In this podcast Professor Norma Correa Aste, a Peruvian anthropologist, shows how lockdown measures have a detrimental and lasting impact beyond the pandemic, with the government using remote learning for non-health-related reasons such as strikes, protests, sporting events and conferences citing traffic and security concerns. She says the ongoing reliance on remote learning in Peru reveals a troubling pattern and that school closures disproportionately harm vulnerable students, particularly those without reliable internet or home learning support, deepening educational inequalities. She warns such measures risk widening the gap between privileged and disadvantaged students, with long-term consequences for the country’s future.