The Peruvian labyrinth | THE VIEWER



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Peru is experiencing a real crossroads. After the most dramatic week in its recent history, the country already has a new president, the roots of the system that triggered this and other crises are far from being eradicated. How long will he live in political uncertainty?

Francisco Sagasti is the third president of the Peruvians in eight days. Martín Vizcarra was sacked on November 9, accused of corruption, and Manuel Merino had to resign on Sunday, harassed by popular pressure and the death of two demonstrators at the hands of the police, who suppressed the protests.

Today Merino is under investigation for “abuse of authority and intentional homicide”. His chief of staff, Ántero Flores Aráoz, and his interior minister, Gastón Rodríguez, will also have to answer for the deaths of Inti Sotelo (24) and Jack Pintado (22), apparently due to the shots fired by the police, in a protest against Saturday night.

Sagasti will have to close the political crisis that has worsened in the fleeting Merino government, but which leaves incalculable damage. It will govern, if Congress allows it, until July 28, 2021, when the president-elect takes office on April 11 next year. So Sagasti barely passed 60 votes to be elected, which shows once again the thousand and one interests that exist in the Legislature.

Because the particular interests of the forces that make up the Congress were those that generated the crisis that destabilized the country for the third time since 2016, the year in which the parade of heads of state began. There are four: the first, Pedro Pablo Kuczcynksi, forced to resign, followed by Martín Vizcarra, Manuel Merino and now Francisco Sagasti. The country has had two congresses for four years.

“The November 9th decision interrupted the democratic regime after 20 years and involved extreme aggression against the presidential figure. The simple fact that the country has more presidents in a few days means a devaluation of a stability achieved with everyone’s efforts “, said the newspaper. The Republic in your editorial.

See More: Who is Francisco Sagasti, the new president of Peru?

“The fact that the vacancy was unconstitutional and that treason, blackmail by lawmakers and an alliance with corrupt and undemocratic groups were used to make the decision increases the belief that its perpetrators acted treacherously,” he added.

For his part, Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, professor of International Relations at the Universidad del Rosario, explained that Peru is a different case from Latin American countries, “because since the 1990s it has tried to become a semi-presidentialism and the Congress has functions that in another country no “.

Political chaos is the responsibility of all Peruvian sectors. Former President Martín Vizcarra had such a strong confrontation with Congress today that he ordered its closure in September 2019. Before that, Vizcarra had tabled a proposal to end the re-election of congressmen in a referendum.

“Non-re-election has eliminated any incentive for a congressman to take responsibility – at least to his constituents – for his decisions. As in Macondo, Peruvian democracy was so recent (18 years old) that, to name a few, one had to point the finger at them. One of them was a political career. Before this decision, and after the return to democracy, the re-election rate was one third of those in Congress. With the Vizcarra provision, the possibility of making professional politicians disappear “, explained Jonathan Castro Cajahuanca, to The Washington Post.

See more: Manuel Merino, Peru’s most fleeting and tragic presidency

In this crisis, analysts stressed, the true role of political parties has been seen. Alianza Popular, the left-wing Frente Amplio, considered by many to be “the useful fool” in the vacant post, supported Merino in pursuing his own interests; We are Peru, the religious of Frepap and also the Fujimori Popular Force party of Keiko Fujimori contributed to unleashing the crisis and then stood apart as if nothing had happened.

The ultra-nationalist Union for Peru (UPP), the group that instigated the vacancy in Vizcarra, and Podemos Peru, led by José Luna, owner of private universities, investigated for corruption, sought political revenge after Vizcarra promoted the university reform.

Congress is one of the institutions with the worst image in Peru. On his last day as president, Vizcarra reminded the Peruvian people that 68 members of Congress have open trials and asked them if they shouldn’t leave their positions.

“Peru is outraged by what is happening in Congress. Their fight against corruption is a lie: they are negotiating ministries and our democratic right to elect in 2021. What is not defended in Parliament will be defended in the streets, “said the leader of the Purple Party, who yesterday appointed president. .

See more: Corruption, the root of Peru’s political crises

What are the prospects for the country? Uncertainty and a complicated scenario in a nation hard hit by the pandemic, the economic crisis and now the moral crisis.

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