Curfew affects Peru’s economy ten times more than transportation stoppage

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The “curfew” or so-called mandatory social immobilization was initiated only in Metropolitan Lima and Callao, following rumors of alleged looting in the city. It has not occurred in the capital but has happened in other parts of the country’s interior.

However, mobility restrictions have been established for Metropolitan Lima and Callao.

Economist Juan Carlos Odar explained that the strike affected the Peruvian economy by between US$25 million and US$30 million per day due to the impact on the service, agricultural, and transportation sectors that has occurred in some points of the country.

“It is an approximation, but it gives us an idea of the impact lost in the Peruvian economy and GDP,” he expressed.

However, the paralyzation (transport stoppage) that only affected some points of the capital has worsened in the country due to the measure of immobilization for a day, whose impact turns out to be ten times greater.

Jorge Carrillo Acosta, an expert in Finance and Professor at Pacífico Business School, states that one day of paralyzation affects the GDP by PEN 1.5 billion (US$405 million) at a national level. For Lima and Callao, it could mean an impact of almost PEN 1,000 million.

“One of the most worrying issues is to know how those people who live from day to day will survive and will not be able to feed their families,” he said.

There were no public means of transportation in the early morning hours, not even for health personnel. There have also been reported restrictions on entry to some parts of Lima.

In addition, the regulation has several gaps between the announcement of President Pedro Castillo, who said that people could buy their food, a measure that is not noted in the legal regulation published until before midnight.

With this, it seems that the solution given by the government will have a more significant impact than the problem it faced.

Previous cases such as at the beginning of the pandemic and social immobilization impacted the fall of GDP when Vizcarra and Sagasti adopted this measure, although for longer periods.

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