The peruvian migrants and the political reform in Perú

Abstract

Peruvian voters abroad have participated for 36 years in domestic elections. This community has a political and economic agenda which is not represented in the Peruvian legislature. The Peruvian political elites neglect that the current institutional design disregards this group. Peruvian voters abroad have a particular set of offers and demands related to the migrant reality. This article analyzes the political engineering of the representation of voters abroad in the Peruvian electoral design and compares it to other political scenarios. Since other countries with similar voting populations such as Croatia and Ecuador have special constituencies of national residents living abroad, it is paradoxical that Peru has not yet one. The study shows the inconsistencies of the arguments that have hindered the creation of the special district of Peruvians voters abroad and discusses proposals for an applied reform.