First modification:
Two months after the outbreak of the crisis in Peru, as a result of former President Pedro Castillo’s failed attempt to dissolve Congress, the street continues to demand the resignation of Congress and President Dina Boluarte. “The constitutional solution is to advance these elections, in the face of what is the central aspiration of the population, which is a renewal of the current political representation,” says the Peruvian ambassador to France, Rolando Ruiz Rosas.
The facts are known: subjected to a third attempt to remove him, former President Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress on December 7. His maneuver turned out to be a fiasco, he was arrested and replaced, in accordance with the Constitution, by Dina Boluarte. From then on, a large sector of the population called for his resignation, as well as that of the whole of Congress. A deeply discredited institution.
“President Boluarte, as mandated by the Constitution, was appointed to succeed the president by the Congress of the Republic, has sought as a solution to this crisis the advancement of general elections, and this implies in the case of Peru a constitutional reform, since the mandates are for five years”, says the diplomat at Escala in Paris.
President Boluarte called on members of Congress to resign on January 28 and put her resignation on the table, which is no longer an option. “My resignation is not at stake,” declared the Peruvian president who seems to be hesitating. Faced with this change of position, Rolando Ruiz Rosas responded that “early elections are the way out,” and he is confident that “the political class as a whole be mature enough to find an outlet that meets this interest”.
“In Peru, the advancement of elections is not necessarily the product of a law, but implies a constitutional reform. The resignation of the president could be attended by the Executive if it is considered that this exit would facilitate this, but for now the situation of the call for the advancement of the elections corresponds to the proposed constitutional reform ”, estimates Ruiz.
Since December 7, at least fifty deaths have been deplored, many from police firearms. The Peruvian authorities assure that there will be a trial against those responsible. “The country is in mourning” for the deaths in the protests, says Rolando Ruiz Rosas. “From the Executive, there is full support and facilitation of the investigations that make it possible to clarify these facts, investigate, prosecute and punish those who are responsible”, add blunt.
Pedro Castillo, lasted less than 18 months in the Government, is the fifth president in six years. Three of them were removed by Congress. Four presidents have been persecuted or prosecuted accused of corruption, and another, Alan García, committed suicide in 2019. What broke out in December 2022 is one more episode in a long and deep institutional crisis.
