The story of a small group of economists who helped defeat Peru's brutal Shining Path terrorists, pressured the government into making legal reforms that have lifted millions out of poverty and in the process became repeated targets for bombing and assassinations.

THE POWER OF THE POOR tells the story of a small group of economists who helped defeat Peru's brutal Shining Path terrorists, pressured the government into making legal reforms that have lifted millions out of poverty and in the process became repeated targets for bombing and assassinations. It is a look at the vital role that efficient, inclusive laws and private property play in prosperity and social peace. Filmed in Peru and featuring award-winning Peruvian economist and author Hernando de Soto, the program relates how corruption and bureaucracy have locked two thirds of the world's population out of national and global economies. Forced to operate outside the rule of law, they have created their own parallel, but extremely limited, extralegal systems. De Soto and his team have proven that the world's hard-working poor entrepreneurs have created far more wealth than anyone had ever imagined. He believes that the value of their homes and businesses worldwide is almost $10 trillion.