Peru faces challenges in decentralization and territorial development

After more than two decades, Peru's decentralization process faces criticism from experts for failing to achieve true territorial development. Analysts note that structural reforms have been limited to administrative and procedural changes, which has widened the gap between the capital and provincial regions.

Researcher Eduardo Ballón Echegaray argues that the original project focused too heavily on budget execution rather than territorial management or the quality of public services. This has left many regions vulnerable due to a lack of state presence. Additionally, the country faces high dependency on mining canon resources, which are concentrated in few regions without supporting strategic development or food security.

Economist Yefferson Llonto Caicedo highlighted that the issue is not merely budget allocation but the lack of technical institutional capacity within subnational governments. While the volume of public investment has been decentralized, technical gaps continue to hinder effective execution.