1. Among the earliest works were those of José Matos Mar in the late 1950s and 1960s (for instance, Urban-ización y Barriadas en América del Sur and Urbanización y Barriadas en Lima). Among the many Peruvian and other researchers who have worked and published on this subject are Gustavo Riofrío, Federico Arnillas, Cecilia Blondet, Mario Solezzi, Julio Calderón, Henry Dietz, Maruja Barrig, Jorge Burga, Jean Claude Driant, Roberto Arroyo, Luis Chirinos, Ana María Becerra, Adolfo Córdova and Lisa Peattie. There was also the work of Bill Mangin and John Turner from the 1960s onwards which emphasized the need to provide legal tenure to the illegal settlements in Lima (and elsewhere) - see, for instance, Mangin, William (1967), “Latin American squatter settlements; a problem and a solution”, Latin American Research Review Vol 2, No 3, Summer, pages 65-98 and Turner, John F C (1966), Uncontrolled Urban Settlements: Problems and Policies, Report for the United Nations Seminar on Urbanization, Pittsburgh.

2. See page 43 of the Spanish edition; page 18 of the English edition.

3. See page 63 of the Spanish edition.

4. The political use of the formalization of property titles by the Fujimori government has been documented in a series of studies, publications and political analyses in Peru. The widely used phrase “one title, one vote” illustrates this situation.

5. The municipality of Lima developed a programme for the titling of human settlements between 1984 and 1986 with the help of credit from the World Bank. These efforts demonstrated their effectiveness, efficiency and lesser cost without the intervention of organs of central government.

6. A number of studies point out that there are other effects from the formalization of informal property rights: psychological effects in the sense of feelings of security, and a stimulation of investment in housing. It is observed in our countries that people, poor as they are, invest considerable amounts of energy, resources and ingenuity in the construction and improvement of their shelters. But it is also noted that insecurity of tenure and fear of eviction are serious obstacles, preventing housing improvements. Improved land tenure security is, therefore, generally accepted as being the foundation of the gradual approach to housing.

7. For example, the biographical details of the author in the English edition of The Mystery of Capital state that: “As President Alberto Fujimori’s principal advisor, he initiated Peru’s economic reforms and played a leading role in modernizing its economic and political system. In 1993, de Soto drew up and negotiated the strategic plan that reversed Fujimori’s coup d’état and returned the country to electoral democracy.” But the majority of Peruvians will say that democracy returned in November 2000 and not in 1993, when Fujimori allowed new elections for Congress which enabled him to change the constitution and allowed him to be re-elected, with all the well-known consequences.

8. At this moment, an indepth study of the effects of the formalization policy on the quality of housing as a result of increased security and access to credit is being undertaken by Petra Hofman at PEGUP. The results of this study are expected in October 2002.

Book Review: A New Mystery from de Soto?

Abstract