Peru’s “Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces,” led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado, drew worldwide scholarly attention nearly a generation ago as a result of its sweeping social and economic reforms and its highly idiosyncratic approach to issues of social justice. The torrent of literature seeking to explain the “mentality” of Peru’s military reformers subsided to a mere trickle by the mid-1990s, however. This declining interest in Velasco-led reformism seems clearly related to the later failures of the Peruvian state. Of particular significance were Peru’s 20-year struggle with terrorism, concurrent economic turmoil, and the corruption and authoritarianism of the García and Fujimori regimes. During the Fujimori era, Peru’s armed forces remained largely submissive to his agenda, and the officer corps was damaged by widespread allegations of corruption and human rights violations. After the decline in Sendero Luminoso’s terrorist operations in the mid-1990s and the outbreak of border hostilities with Ecuador...
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