Since the 1930s and, more intensely, since the 1950s, the processes of modernization associated with the spread of capitalism undermined the traditional bases of political power in Peru and contributed to the emergence of new social actors and the expansion of political participation. This led to the growth of several populist movements whose goal was to reduce the concentration of wealth, break down the ethnic-hierarchical divisions inherited from the colonial past, and open channels for accommodating the socioeconomic demands of the popular classes within the state apparatus. To this end, the state had to be strengthened sufficiently to represent the interests and aspirations of indigenous peoples, mestizos, and “provincials” in the regional backwaters against the exclusionary interests of native and foreign property owners—that is, the blanquitos, or “whites.” In the populist political scheme the state was the prime mover; civil society was perceived as an undifferentiated social aggregate with little capacity to articulate itself, identify its national interests, or formulate its political objectives.