Economic policy of the Alberto Fujimori administration

Alberto Fujimori served as the 54th President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 22 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, defeating the Shining Path insurgency in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability. However, he was criticized for his authoritarian way of ruling the country (especially after 1992) and was accused of human rights violations. Even amid his prosecution in 2008 for crimes against humanity relating to his presidency, two-thirds of Peruvians polled voiced approval for his leadership in that period.

Fujimori's economic policy was largely adopted from the advice of Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, who prescribed economic guidelines – including the loosening of economic regulation, the introduction of austerity measures and the utilization of neoliberal policies – that were ultimately adopted by the Fujimori administration and established in the 1993 Constitution of Peru. The policies utilized by de Soto and Fujimori resulted with increased misery for poor Peruvians as de Soto's prescribed "Fujishock" caused increased prices and little change to the poverty rate. Eventually, the policies resulted in Peru becoming macro-economically stable and gave way to the strongest surge in economic growth in Peru following the period of price controls and increased regulation established during the Lost Decade.