Peru Congress to resume debate on bringing elections forward
LIMA: Peru’s Congress will resume debate Tuesday on a bill to bring forward elections, a move aimed at ending weeks of protests that have left dozens dead and brought parts of the country to a standstill.
On Monday, lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the bill after seven hours of discussions, and proceedings will resume at 11am on Tuesday, according to the legislature.
“We are sure that there will be a way out. All the democratic blocs are going to debate it taking into account the high sense of urgency,” said Prime Minister Alberto Otarola on Monday.
The South American country has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily street protests since December 7, when then-president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
In seven weeks of demonstrations, 48 people — including one police officer — have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to the Ombudsman’s Office.
The unrest is being propelled mainly by poor, rural Indigenous people from southern Peru who had identified Castillo as one of their own who would fight to end poverty, racism and inequality.
Dozens of roadblocks have been set up by protesters, causing a shortage of food and fuel in some southern areas as they demand that Castillo’s replacement, President Dina Boluarte, step down.
Trade unions and other bodies have called for another major demonstration against Boluarte in Lima on Tuesday.
Last month, lawmakers moved elections due in 2026 to April 2024, but as protests showed no sign of abating, Boluarte has called to hold them this year, which Congress rejected late Friday.
In last week’s vote on moving elections to October, there were 65 votes against and just 45 in favor, with two abstentions.
If reconvened lawmakers again refuse to advance elections, Boluarte has said she will propose a constitutional reform allowing a first voting round to be held in October and a runoff in December.
Protesters are demanding immediate elections, the dissolution of Congress and a new constitution.
In the Lima suburb of Huaycan, hundreds of people marched on Monday chanting: “No more deaths, Dina quit now.”
Dozens of soldiers headed to Ica, about 250 kilometers south of the capital, to support police in clearing roadblocks on the vital Panamericana Sur highway that connects major cities.
Weeks of roadblocks have caused shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies countrywide.