Peasant Cooperatives and Political Change in Peru

This extensive analysis of political and economic structures developed by the Velasco government concludes that peasant political culture is less impervious to change than is generally thought. Unfortunately, neither Peru nor Velasco benefitted much because "although the Peruvian 'New Man' was a more participatory and trusting individual, the focus of these new attitudes was the self-managed enterprise [the cooperative] itself. Peasants remained rather unconcerned with the fate of other peasants . . . and they also continued to be skeptical of the national government."