Main effects of the 1983 El Niño :

 

(See Appendix C for additional information on prevention, impacts, and comparison with the 1983 event as well as other years)

 

The severe impact of the 1983 “Mega Niño” produced a flurry of significant research work. From paleo-climate studies to research into the historical record, there were numerous contributions focused on trying to understand the past behavior of the natural event and attempting to reconstruct its previous incarnations. The most important articles to appear in the Peruvian press were collected by Hernán Peralta in a book entitled El Niño in Peru, published by the José María Arguedas Institute in 1985. The social impact of El Niño was researched principally by Eduardo Franco and Pedro Ferradas who gave rise to a series of studies that are, fortunately, still ongoing. This research points out the connections between social development and preventive measures in the face of disasters and has helped to raise awareness on these issues. Nevertheless, explosive and haphazard urban sprawl has made the nation more vulnerable. The 1983 Niño was the starting point for a multiplicity of ecological and biological research work. Juan Tarazona and Edgard Valdivia of Peruvian nationality and foreigners Wolf Arnz and Eberhard Farhrbach produced outstanding research.[1]

 

The 1983 El Niño caused a major shakeup in the Peruvian political establishment. This fact is obviously a prominent topic discussed in the many political science articles to appear in the 1980s. The second government of the architect Fernando Belaunde can be split in two, before the natural phenomenon of 1983, and after. The first half was absolutely tepid while the second half was decidedly downhill. El Niño caught the country by surprise and the government reacted hesitantly during the floods. The emergency severely affected the daily life of half the country. Later on, the reconstruction stage proceeded under pressures from all quarters without proper planning, management, or coordination.

 

The severe economic crisis brought about by El Niño was the backdrop to the political shakeup in Peru. The GNP shrunk 12% that year, the worst outcome in the twentieth century. Many businesses collapsed because the natural phenomenon coincided with the explosion of the foreign debt crisis that shook all of Latin America during the 1980s. In 1982 Mexico declared itself insolvent and starting from that moment the whole region was under pressure from the banking institutions and multilateral organizations to tighten their economies in order to reschedule the debt payments. During the decade of the 1980s Latin America exported capital to the rest of the world at an unprecedented rate. The confluence of the foreign debt problem and El Niño created a crisis of spectacular proportions in Peru.

 

The common people of the northern coast suffered the consequences of the torrential rains. The 1983 El Niño was a period of hunger and social chaos followed by severe epidemics in 1984. Every level of society was aware of El Niño as a disaster of great magnitude. The northerners suffered considerable damage and were collectively ruined. Lima lived through the general political and economic effects, while the Southern Sierras experienced an unprecedented drought. The whole country was thrown into a recession, unparalleled in the century, seriously undermining confidence in the central government.[2]