This profile provides a guide to the major recent economic, social, and political developments within Peru, viewed through the eyes of Peruvians themselves. John Crabtree emphasizes the depth of social divides in a country where more than half the population lives in poverty and without access to adequate employment. He analyzes the weakness of democratic institutions and the lack of political "voice" of the majority of men and women, while examining the background to the country's poor human rights record in recent years.

Peru is burdened with heavy foreign debts, and subject to IMF-designed adjustment policies. Exploitation of its tremendous resource wealth, including its gold, oil, and forests, has led, not to prosperity, but to depredation and environmental damage. Its climate and geology mean that Peru is also highly prone to natural disasters, and the chaos and poverty they engender. Nonetheless, Peruvians are resilient people. This book shows how, through a myriad of locally-based initiatives and institutions, they seek to forge a better future for themselves and their children. The book is richly illustrated throughout with original photographs.