The authorities of this country decided to prohibit the poor from reproducing

At the end of the twentieth century, one of the most extensive and controversial state campaigns for birth control unfolded in Peru.

Under the pretext of fighting poverty and overloading the social system, the authorities organized mass sterilization of residents from low-income and rural regions.

Background

For many decades, Peru faced high birth rates among the poor, especially in rural Andean communities and in regions inhabited by indigenous Quechua and Aymara populations. State social support programs could not cope with the burden, and authorities feared that rapid population growth would exacerbate poverty and inequality. In this atmosphere, the country's leadership declared demographic growth a threat to economic development.

Policy and Scale

In the mid-nineties, a state "family planning" program was launched. In practice, it turned into a campaign of forced sterilization. Thousands of doctors and paramedics were instructed to actively involve women in surgical contraception, and in some cases, they were directly ordered to fulfill specific "quotas" for the number of operations.

People from vulnerable communities were persuaded or forced to agree to the intervention. Women and men were misled, being told that it was a harmless procedure or that it was necessary to receive medical care and state benefits. In many cases, operations were performed without full informed consent.

According to various sources, hundreds of thousands of people fell victim to this policy. The vast majority were women from poor rural families. Many suffered severe complications due to the poor quality of medical conditions.

Consequences

Over time, the facts of mass sterilization began to be revealed. Evidence of human rights violations, coercion, and intimidation emerged. Women reported being persuaded to agree to the operation right during childbirth or after medical examinations.

The campaign caused international resonance. Human rights organizations accused the Peruvian authorities of violating basic human rights and discrimination based on social and ethnic grounds. The program officially ended, but the consequences for thousands of families remained irreversible. Many were never able to obtain compensation or a fair investigation.

Assessment by Historians and Human Rights Advocates

Historians call this campaign an attempt by the state to solve economic and social problems through coercion and control over the bodies of the most vulnerable groups. Human rights organizations view it as one of the most extensive forms of forced sterilization in Latin America.

Conclusion

The history of forced sterilization in Peru has become a symbol of how state policy, hiding behind economic interests and slogans of fighting poverty, can turn into a gross violation of human rights. This is an example that attempts to solve social and demographic problems through violence lead not to the development of society, but to trauma, injustice, and long-term consequences for entire generations.