El Comercio Digital Archive
Peru's Newspaper of Record
Founded in 1839, El Comercio is the longest-running newspaper in Peru and one of the oldest Spanish-language newspapers in the world. It is considered Peru’s newspaper of record and is one of the most influential newspapers in South America—with a circulation of over 100,000.
During the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), El Comercio was closed for a period of four years during the Chilean occupation of Lima. Following the war, El Comercio was sold to the Miro Quesada family and emerged as Peru’s most authoritative news source.
El Comercio was expropriated for a period of six years during the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces of Peru (1968–1980) and was thereafter returned to its owners.
Over the years, El Comercio has provided unique coverage of important events in Peruvian and South American history, including the Guano Era (1845–1866), the Peruvian Civil War (1865), the Amazon Rubber Boom (1879–1912), the third era of military dictatorships (1930–1939), the Fujimori presidency and “Fujishock” (1990–2000), and Peru’s ongoing political crisis (2017–).
