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President Martin Vizcarra came to power in 2018, following the resignation of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, of whom he was the running mate, on charges of corruption. Lima, April 11, 2019. Peruvian Presidency / Handout via REUTERS

Peru has just broken its record of uninterrupted democracy since the country's creation in the 19th century. On Sunday, April 21, Peru experienced 6,724 days of democracy in a row.

With our regional correspondent, Éric Samson

The previous record dates back to the 19th century. Between the arrival of Nicolas de Piérola on September 8, 1895, and Oscar Benavides' coup on February 4, 1914, Peru had elected six presidents and lived 6,723 days in a democracy, ie 18 years, 4 months and 25 days. It was the time of the "aristocratic republic".

That the country had to wait more than a century to break this record is a good illustration of the chronic political instability in this region of the world. After several military governments, the election of Fernando Belaunde in 1980 marked the return of Peru to democracy, until Alberto Fujimori's self-coup in April 1992, which will reset the counters.

The current democratic phase began on November 22, 2000 with the arrival of Acting President Valentin Paniagua, who organized the election of Alejandro Toledo. Then came Alan Garcia, Ollanta Humala , Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Martin Vizcarra , invested on March 23, 2018.

If it has been long, at least on the Peruvian scale, this period is not exemplary. An ex-president is on the run, another is in prison, two are accused of corruption and Alan Garcia has committed suicide .