Hernando Soto Polar (commonly known Hernando de Soto ; born June 2, 1941) is a Peruvian economist known for his work on the informal economy and on the importance of business and property rights. His work on the developing world has earned him praise worldwide by numerous heads of state, particularly for his publication The Mystery of Capital and The Other Path. He is the current president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD), a think tank devoted to promoting economic development in developing countries located in Lima, Peru.In Peru, de Soto's advisory has been recognized as inspiring the economic guidelines—including the loosening of economic regulation, the introduction of austerity measures and the utilization of neoliberal policies—that were ultimately adopted by the government of Alberto Fujimori and established in the 1993 Constitution of Peru. The policies prescribed by de Soto resulted with Peru becoming macro-economically stable following the period of price controls and increased regulation established during the Lost Decade. De Soto would go on to support Alberto's daughter, Keiko Fujimori, serving as an advisor during her presidential campaigns. De Soto worked closely with various Peruvian governments, even serving as a negotiator for the Peru-United States Free Trade Agreement. After years of speculation, de Soto ran for the Peruvian presidency in the 2021 presidential election, placing fourth in an atomized race of 18 nominees.Internationally, de Soto helped inspire the Washington Consensus macroeconomic prescriptions and was credited by economist John Williamson, who coined the consensus' name. He also supported the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with George H.W. Bush praising his promotion of free trade when announcing the North American agreement. Other heads of state have recognized de Soto, including Bill Clinton, Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. The ILD has received praise from other people including Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, and former UN General Secretary Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. Source: Wikipedia (en)