Peru, like Bolivia and Ecuador, has some of the key ingredients necessary for the success of indigenous parties. Specifically, it has a large politically and economically marginalized indigenous population with only weak attachments to the existing political parties. This population, along with some other sectors of the electorate, has expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the traditional political parties and their economic policies in the last decade or so, and thus we might expect it to be attracted to a party that combines ethnic and populist appeals. Peru also has a long tradition of mestizaje, which has blurred ethnic boundaries and reduced ethnic polarization, thus making it feasible for an indigenous party to win support across ethnic lines.

Surprisingly, however, no major indigenous party has emerged in Peru. As we shall see, a large number of regional parties based in local indigenous or peasant organizations have competed successfully in local elections. None of these parties has been able to translate their local successes to the national level, however.