As one of South America's larger capital cities, Lima, Peru, is remarkably understudied as a demographic and economic entity unto itself. In this important book, Henry Dietz presents an in-depth historical, sociological, and political analysis of a major Latin American city in the post–World War II period. Dietz examines electoral data for Lima's districts from six censuses conducted between 1940 and 2007, framed against a backdrop of extensive demographic data for the city, to trace the impact of economic collapse and extended insurgency on Lima and its voters. Urbanization in Lima since World War II has at times been rapid, violent, and traumatic, and has resulted in marked social inequalities. Dietz looks at how equity across the city has not in general improved; Lima is today segregated both spatially and socially. Dietz asks if and how a high degree of segregation manifests itself politically as well as socially and spatially. Do urban dwellers living under profound and enduring social segregation consistently support different parties and candidates? As institutional political parties have faded since the 1990s and have been replaced by personalist movements, candidacies, and governments, Dietz explores how voters of different social classes behave. The result is a vital resource for researchers seeking well-contextualized information on elections and economics in Peru. This book will be of interest to scholars of politics or economics, especially in Latin America, but also to a much wider audience interested in how the developments in Lima, Peru, affect the global sociopolitical climate.

There is no other study that integrates perspectives from demography, geography, history, sociology and political science to examine the evolution of this major city and its voting patterns...the wealth of data on Lima's growth, educational levels, occupational categories and housing quality will be a treasure trove for scholars for decades to come. -Journal of Latin American Studies

"For Peruvianists, this book is a treasure trove. It traces socioeconomic trends within the country's capital from the World War II period all the way up to the present. The database in the volume is a rich one, and it will serve scholars from a range of disciplines (anthropology, economics, geography, political science, and sociology) for years to come." —Carol Wise, University of Southern California

"Henry Dietz is probably the premier expert in the field on the history and politics, including electoral politics, in Lima. This study is in the best tradition of some of Notre Dame's finest books, including Charles Kenney's study of the Peruvian Congress and Gabriela Ippolito-O'Donnelll's book on social movements in Buenos Aires." —Leslie Anderson, author of Democratization by Institutions

Henry Dietz is professor emeritus in the Department of Government and is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including Urban Poverty, Political Participation, and the State: Lima, 1970–1990.