The history of Peru spans 15 millennia, extending back through several stages of cultural development along the country's desert coastline and in the Andes mountains. Peru's coast was home to the Norte Chico civilization, the oldest civilization in the Americas and one of the six cradles of civilization in the world. When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, Peru was the homeland of the highland Inca Empire, the largest and most advanced state in pre-Columbian America. After the conquest of the Incas, the Spanish Empire established a Viceroyalty with jurisdiction over most of its South American domains. Peru declared independence from Spain in 1821, but achieved independence only after the Battle of Ayacucho three years later.
The Peruvian Aprista Party is a Peruvian social-democratic political party and a member of the Socialist International. The party was founded as the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, who originally intended to create a network of anti-imperialist social and political movements in Latin America. Members are called "compañeros" (fellows), based on the fraternity espoused by Haya de la Torre. Originally a centre-left to left-wing party with democratic socialist and nationalist elements, the party moved closer to the political centre under the leadership of Alan García starting in the 1980s, embracing social democracy and later some Third Way policies. In 2006, the party adopted a new platform as García's second presidency implemented a series of policies labelled as centre-right, embracing free-market capitalism, dialogue with other right-wing parties and organizations in the country, and closer ties with the Catholic Church and Evangelical churches.
Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre was a Peruvian politician, philosopher, and author who founded the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) political movement, the oldest currently existing political party in Peru by the name of the Peruvian Aprista Party (PAP).
José Luis Bustamante y Rivero was a lawyer, writer, politician, and diplomat who served as the 44th President of Peru from 1945 to 1948 and President of the International Court of Justice in The Hague from 1967 to 1970.
Manuel Arturo Odría Amoretti was a military officer who served as the 45th President of Peru.
Óscar Raymundo Benavides Larrea was a Peruvian field marshal, diplomat, and politician who served as the 38th and 42nd (1933–1939) President of Peru, with his latter term being a period of authoritarian fascism.
The Revolutionary Union, was a nationalist political party in Peru founded in 1931 by Luis M. Sánchez Cerro, former president of Peru. The party was formed following the coup with which Sanchez Cerro overthrew the eleven-year dictatorship of Augusto B. Leguía. Initially an authoritarian-populist organization, the party later transitioned towards fascism following the assassination of its founder, with Luis A. Flores assuming leadership in 1933 and consolidating this ideological shift.
National Alliance, was a political party in Peru in 1947 founded by Pedro Beltrán Espantoso. A notable economist, journalist, and businessman. The party emerged during a period of significant political instability and economic dependency in Peru, as the country faced mounting social unrest and demands for reform. Under the administration of José Luis Bustamante y Rivero (1945–1948), Peru’s political landscape was deeply fragmented, with tensions between conservative elites, reformist movements, and the influential American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), a populist left-wing party that had gained substantial support among the working class and rural populations. The National Alliance positioned itself as a centrist-conservative alternative, advocating for gradual modernization, economic liberalism, and the preservation of constitutional democracy. The ideological foundation of the National Alliance was shaped by Beltrán’s belief that Peru could achieve modernization through a combination of industrialization, fostering domestic entrepreneurship, and reducing the nation’s reliance on foreign corporations. Unlike APRA’s populist rhetoric, which the National Alliance viewed as destabilizing, the party sought to appeal to the middle class and elite business interests by emphasizing fiscal responsibility and institutional reform. Beltrán, who owned the influential newspaper La Prensa, used his platform to articulate the party’s vision and critique what he saw as the excesses of populism and authoritarianism. Despite its ambitions, the National Alliance struggled to gain widespread support. The party’s focus on elite and business interests limited its appeal to the rural and working-class populations, who gravitated toward APRA and other populist movements. Consequently, the National Alliance failed to achieve significant electoral success and faded from Peru’s political scene within a few years of its founding. Nevertheless, its creation reflected the broader ideological tensions in mid-20th-century Peruvian politics, as the nation grappled with the challenges of modernization, inequality, and political representation.
The Christian Democratic Party, formerly known as Christian Democracy, is a political party in Peru. Founded in 1956 by Ernesto Alayza Grundy, Luis Bedoya Reyes, Mario Polar Ugarteche, Héctor Cornejo Chávez, Roberto Ramírez del Villar and others.
Luis Antonio Eguiguren Escudero was a Peruvian educator, magistrate, historian and politician. He was the director of the General Archive (File) of the Nation (1914), Alderman of Lima (1914–1920), Mayor of Lima (1930), President of the Constituent Congress (1930–1932), founder and leader of the Peruvian Social Democratic Party. He won the Peruvian presidential election of 1936, but his victory was ignored by the Congress and the then-President Oscar R. Benavides, who claimed that he had won with votes of the APRA. He presided over the Supreme Court and the Judiciary in 1953 and 1954.
A Spanish Peruvian is a Peruvian citizen of Spanish descent. Among European Peruvians, the Spanish are the largest group of immigrants to settle in the country.
José Alfonso Ernesto Bustamante y Bustamante is a Peruvian businessman and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Peru from 1993 to 1994 during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori.
Eloy Gaspar Ureta Montehermoso was a Peruvian army officer who led the Peruvian Armed Forces to victory in the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War of 1941 for which he was awarded the honorary rank of Grand Marshal of Peru in 1946. His first baptism by fire occurred a decade prior during the 1932 Trujillo Revolution in which he was commander of the 1st and 3rd military regiments that participated in the conflict. He ran in the presidential election of 1945, but was defeated by José Bustamante y Rivero. He is considered Patron of the Armored Weapon of the Peruvian Army.
Fascism as a political philosophy in Peru held great influence among different sectors of society during the early to mid-20th century. The movement was particularly strong following the Arequipa revolution of 1930 and the end of the Leguía’s regime, although its popularity declined following the end of World War II, after the defeat and discredit of fascism worlwide. Peruvian fascism was mainly influenced by Italian fascism and, in a lesser way, Spanish falangism, while also drawing significant inspiration from Catholic tradition and the concept of Mestizaje, emphasizing the unity of the Peruvian people.
Mario Polar Ugarteche was a Peruvian politician and writer. He was one of the founders of the Christian Democratic Party and its first president. Later he was the founder and president of the Popular Christian Party (PPC). He was a senator of the Republic on four occasions and once a constitutional deputy (1979).
Ernesto Montagne Markholz was a Peruvian military officer, diplomat, and politician. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Lieutenant Colonel Luis Sánchez Cerro (1930–1931). In the second government of Óscar R. Benavides, he served as Minister of Justice, Instruction, Worship and Charity (1934–1935), Minister of Public Education (1935–1939) and President of the Council of Ministers (1936–1939). He was also a senator of the Republic (1939–1948) and President of the Senate (1939–1941).
The 1962 Peruvian coup d'état was promoted by the then Chief of the Joint Command of the Peruvian Armed Forces, General Ricardo Pérez Godoy, against the outgoing government of Manuel Prado Ugarteche for alleged irregularities in the electoral process of that year.
The history of Peru between 1956 and 1968 corresponds to the period following the general elections that put an end to the eight-year military dictatorship that ruled the country since 1948, with Manuel Prado Ugarteche taking office for the second time in 1956. Peruvian historiography names this period as that of moderate civil reform, alternatively democratic formality.
The history of Peru between 1948 and 1956 corresponds to the presidency of General Manuel A. Odría, who overthrew José Luis Bustamante y Rivero through a coup d'état on October 29, 1948. The period's name in Spanish comes from the 8-year length of Odría's presidency. It was a period that for Peru meant the return to militarism, liberal economic policies, repression and persecution of APRA leaders, and manipulative populism over the urban popular classes.
The 1948 Peruvian coup d'état took place on October 27, 1948, headed by general Manuel A. Odría in Arequipa, referred to by him as the "Restorative Revolution", against the government José Luis Bustamante y Rivero. The military coup gave way to a period of almost twenty months in which the deposed president was prosecuted, a state of emergency was declared throughout the country, and the national congress was dissolved.
Peruportal 
