Peru’s businesses on edge as new president Castillo sets leftward course
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Rise in inflation exacerbated by depreciating currency brought on by political uncertainty
Gideon Long in Lima
On his stall in one of Lima’s best-known food markets, Alexander Tocas deftly skins and debones a chicken before weighing the meat and wrapping it for a customer.
“It’s at 9 soles 80 ($2.45) a kilo now,” he says. “The price has gone up by over a sol in just a week. That’s what happens when you have as much political uncertainty as we’ve had in the past few months.”
After the inauguration of leftist president Pedro Castillo, many businesses and shopkeepers are worried about the economy, which has been one of Latin America’s stellar performers since the start of the century. In July, inflation in Peru posted its biggest monthly jump in more than four years.
