Squatter Settlements and Policy Innovation in Peru

The reformist military government which has ruled Peru since 1968 has introduced important innovations in policy toward squatter settlements. Taken together, these innovations constitute a coherent policy which appears to be one of the more successful aspects of the government's effort to transform Peruvian society. At the same time, however, the program in the settlements is a curious blend of policies from earlier periods-drawing not only on policies of a previous reform government, but also on policies proposed and carried out by the Peruvian Right. This chapter analyzes the steps through which the current programs in squatter settlements have evolved, focusing primarily on policy toward the settlements of Lima. It begins with a description of the gtowth of settlements in Lima and a characterization of government policy in earlier periods. Two phases of the evolution of policy under the present government are then examined: the definition of priorities up to the Pamplona invasion of May 1971 and the consolidation of the policy since that invasion. A concluding section places current policy in perspective by contrasting it with policy in other countries and under earlier governments in Peru.