As economic adviser and manager of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski observed at first hand the crisis that preceded the overthrow of the Belaúnde administration on October 3, 1968. His role in the economic policies of that era enables him to provide an insider's view and analysis of the financial and economic problems besetting a democratic regime in a developing country. The author pays particular attention to the reasons for the difficulties of the administration after a promising beginning. He considers the main actors during the period 1966-1968, their central motives, the role of the opposition-controlled Congress, the government's efforts to cope with economic and financial problems, and the role of U.S. foreign policy. The initial successes of the administration in areas such as social participation depended on the initiative of a few key figures—a dependence that contributed to the crisis of 1966-1968. Originally published in 1977. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Under what conditions is democracy stable? What forces undermine or reinforce democratic institutions in Latin America? This book suggests answers to these questions in the context of Peru. It identifies the micro and macro causes that explain the gradual breakdown of democracy in the period between the 1980 transition from authoritarian rule and the 1992 suspension of the Constitution and closure of Congress by President Alberto Fujimori. Similar self-coups were subsequently threatened in Bolivia, unsuccessfully attempted in Guatemala and actively considered in Brazil.