Dina Boluarte, during her televised message this Sunday. (Peru) Presidency of Peru (EFE)
Peruvian politics has slipped into a déjà vu. If the solution to the most recent crisis, which began with Pedro Castillo’s failed self-coup on December 7, lies in the hands of the country’s new President, Dina Boluarte, or Congress, no short-term solution can be expected. The two powers continue to challenge each other to bring forward the general election or withdraw, but neither makes a move forward. This Monday, Congress authorized the resumption of debate on the holding of the 2023 elections, an issue that has been unsuccessfully debated several times over the past two months, most recently last Friday.
The protesters continue to put pressure on the government from the streets, which each time sees less room for manoeuvre. For the first month and a half, protests continued inland without significantly altering life in Lima, the capital, which is home to a third of the country’s population. But in the last 10 days, due to police repression, confrontations have shifted to the streets of the capital. The crisis has already claimed the lives of 58 people, most recently this Saturday in Lima because a projectile was fired.
The President delivered a speech this Sunday night that noted a change in tone compared to previous messages. He called on Congress to shoulder the “historic responsibility” of approving the election advance by 2023, rather than mid-2024 as planned. “Let’s say to all of Peru, with the utmost responsibility: we’re all going.” With these words, he echoes the outcry already spreading across the country as citizens demand “that they all go”: Government and Congress.
Congressmen have taken up the president’s gauntlet without any enthusiasm or any sign of changing their positions. This debate took place last Friday in plenary and was rejected by a large majority. There were only 45 yes votes and 65 no votes. The atmosphere is not such that it will change overnight. There are parties calling for Boluarte’s resignation, congressmen claiming that holding the April 2024 elections is the right thing to do to carry out earlier political reforms, and others, the smaller ones, who advocate leaving as soon as possible .
The discrediting of all the country’s institutions is absolute. The president’s rejection is 76% and congressional approval is just under 7%, according to the latest poll by the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP). In the same poll, 56% said law enforcement was doing better than suppressing the protests, while 26% supported police action. The political crisis is deepening after years of ungovernability in a country that has had six presidents in four years.
For the time being, however, Boluarte has not given any indication that he plans to resign. A fact that would also not lead to immediate new elections, since the President of Congress, José Williams, would take over the presidency of the country. Electoral law expert José Villalobos said the resignation would also “create a problem”. It is not clear what kind of elections would then have to be scheduled; and it seems that these should take place in 2024.
Subscribe to EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without limits.
Subscribe to
The President wanted to show on Sunday that her intention to leave the election campaign is clear. Therefore, he announced that if Congress does not approve the October 2023 call this time, the Executive Branch will introduce two bills to do so. However, these would still have to go through Congress to be approved.
The change in mood of the President, who in her previous messages has always taken action against the demonstrators and defended the actions of the security forces, was also noted in another of her announcements. He proposed the full reform of the 1993 Constitution promulgated during Alberto Fujimori’s government. What was unthinkable just a few weeks ago is another of the demands most often heard on the street.
After Congress agreed to a renewed debate on the election proposal, the session adjourned to start the contact round between the parties and to agree on a new text to be presented to the plenary session. This could happen this Monday if they reach an agreement, or in the next few days. If Congress approves the new date for the elections, the first round would take place in October and the second in December of this year.
As these non-new debates take place in Congress, the convulsion in the streets continues. Around 1,000 people have been pouring into central Lima since midday, and in the interior of the country, who were the first to rise last December, the situation remains chaotic. The government dispatched 2,000 police officers to the Ica regions south of Lima and Puno in the south of the country to try to regain control of roads that have been closed for several days.
Subscribe to the EL PAÍS America newsletter here and receive all the latest news from the region