On 30th October there was a referendum in Peru asking her citizens whether or not they wanted to join with their neighbouring districts to become macro regions – where 3 separate districts become part of 1 region with the aim to facilitate decentralisation.

An overwhelming 69% of those that voted said ‘no’ and only 24% ‘yes’. Only the district of Arequipa came near to the 50% needed to make the change while in many regions the ‘no’ vote was 80-85%.

Julio Díaz Palacios, of ‘Red Perú’, an NGO that works on local development initiatives, said, “the success of the no campaign is not a triumph for Centrists. It is evidence of disinformation and fear that was generated by certain actors, like political parties, in recent weeks. However, the 30% who voted for decentralisation are important and significant”.

According to the Decentralisation Law, the next opportunity for a referendum is 2009, pushing the decentralisation process back.