The possible commission of a constitutional violation by President Dina Boluarte sparked controversy in Peru after former Prime Minister Alberto Otárola assured Parliament on Tuesday that Boluarte underwent a nose operation in 2023. The president would not have reported of surgery to the Legislature, failing to comply with the Constitution.
Otarola told a Parliamentary committee today that, while Boluarte was in office in 2023, he underwent rhinoplasty and after a week and a half he returned to work in person, although he previously worked virtually. He said he did not remember the date of the surgery.
It is the first time that a former official admits the intervention that Boluarte would have undergone after the weekly “Hildebrant en sus trece” reported seven months ago that the president underwent the operation at the end of June of last year and returned to her duties in July 2023.
Heber Campos, professor of constitutional law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, said on his X account, formerly Twitter, that the event is “serious” because it confirms that Boluarte underwent surgery “and that this was not officially communicated, as appropriate, neither to Congress nor to the country.
He explained that the president had the duty to notify Parliament to avoid a “vacuum of power” and for the Legislature to activate “the rule of succession”, provided for in articles 114 and 115 of the Constitution of Peru. Both articles indicate that during the temporary absence of a president, the vice president takes over or if he does not exist, the president of Parliament replaces him.
For his part, constitutional lawyer Luciano López said in his X account that Boluarte could not work remotely after her operation because the only case, allowed by law, occurs when the president is outside of Peru, abroad.
Boluarte and his current prime minister Gustavo Adrianzén, who replaced Otárola from the beginning of 2024, have avoided the issue. In July, Boluarte described two questions about whether he had undergone nose surgery as “biased.”
The president of the Oversight Commission, Juan Burgos, of the Podemos Peru party, told the press that up to ten hours could be added, including stages before and after the operation in which Peru “did not have a president of the Republic” because the president He did not commission his position, nor notify Parliament, nor inform the country. The former prime minister testified before the Burgos commission.
Peru does not have a vice president because Boluarte was the one who held that position until 2022, when he replaced the then president Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), dismissed after trying to dissolve Parliament and sent to preventive detention while being investigated for corruption and rebellion.
The former prime minister told the commission that he did not know who paid for the intervention, nor if Boluarte received a rest order. “To my knowledge, the president did not sign any document under the influence of anesthesia,” he added.
Before parliament, Otárola indicated that Boluarte told him before “that he was going to have a rhinoplasty… an intervention on his nose, but due to breathing problems.” He stated that he communicated with Boluarte the day after the operation, “it was clear from the voice that he had obviously been operated on in the nostrils,” but that from that moment on he had fluid communication, there was even a weekly virtual meeting with the ministers. “He rejoined the in-person councils of ministers after a week and a half,” Otárola added.
The offices of the presidency and the prime minister told The Associated Press that had no comments. “We are focused on daily work. Everything is fine here,” said Jean Pajuelo, the president’s communications secretary.
Without its own legislative bench, Boluarte has survived five impeachment attempts thanks to a coalition that has protected it and that includes two populist parties, especially Fuerza Popular, led by former first lady Keiko Fujimori and Alianza para el Progreso, led by businessman and governor César Acuña.
Legislator Patricia Juárez, from Fuerza Popular – part of that coalition – said that there is no solid legal basis to accuse the president of having committed an infraction of the Constitution. “I have seen many people who have had an operation and I don’t think that constitutes a mistake…and that is no problem,” he told the press.
Boluarte is investigated in several cases by the prosecutor’s office, one of them for her alleged responsibility in the deaths of protesters at the beginning of her administration and another as the alleged perpetrator of the crime of bribery after display some luxury Rolex watches whose acquisition she has not been able to justify since she maintains that they were lent to her by a governor who was a friend of hers without asking for anything in return.
Boluarte’s popularity is the lowest for a Peruvian leader since 1980. The Datum International firm reported in November that acceptance of Boluarte fell to 3%. His unpopularity rose to 94%, while 3% had no opinion.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels YouTube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.
Add Comment