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Literally meaning "young towns", pueblos jóvenes is the nickname given to the vast shanty towns that surround Lima and other cities of Peru. They are populated almost exclusively by Indian and mestizo campesinos who since the 1940s have migrated in great waves from Peru's countryside in search of economic opportunity, turning Lima into the fifth-largest city in the Americas.
The towns are composed of poorly-constructed shacks which generally lack running water, electricity, and other basic services. In both appearance and culture, they are similar to the favelas of Brazil and other Latin American cities. Crime is rampant.
Many of the dwellings are painted with the colors of American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), the Partido Socialista del Perú, or political candidates. Some still bear the logo of disgraced three-term president Alberto Fujimori, now living in exile in Japan, sometimes because the resident hasn't had the time or money to repaint his dwelling, sometimes because he is still a fujimorista.
President Alejandro Toledo, Fujimori's successor, pushed through various initiatives to encourage peasants to return to the farming and mining communities from whence they came, but they have not been effective.