The mandate of a new president, Dina Boluarte, begins in Peru after the arrest of President Pedro Castillo on December 7. Boluarte has already begun dialogue and consensus-building in a fragmented and highly polarized Congress
In four hours, Pedro Castillo turned from Peru’s president to a prisoner accused of staging a coup by ignoring Congress and its judicial institutions. Fortunately, the political earthquake did not plunge the country into chaos, thanks to the consolidated democratic system and solid Peruvian institutions. This system has enabled Peru to weather recurring crises of political instability over the past six years.
Peru’s democratic institutions and the rule of law are once again saving the democratic governance of a country that has deposed six of its presidents since 2016 in a context of deep divisions between the executive and its various congresses, the latter marked by fragmentation and polarization, which has led to until led the Andean nation to near ungovernability.
Peru is a country heavily affected by corruption, with a divided and ideologically polarized society and with political parties that look more at the immediate interests of their leaders than at building a long-term vision of the state. However, thanks to the democratic institutions, the system resolved the crisis of a coup that was considered soft.
At 11:40 a.m. on December 7, President Pedro Castillo, in a message to the nation, announced the dissolution of the National Congress, as well as the reorganization of the judicial system and the Constitutional Court, which he had described as impartial and reasoned. by political interests. The presidential message sparked a political earthquake that would lead to his sudden resignation and prosecution.
Then-President Castillo’s desperate move to avoid his impeachment by Congress on alleged corruption charges brought him into direct confrontation with the legislature. A deeply divided Congress that came together for fear of losing their parliamentary seats. A survival game that ended with the impeachment of the president accused of orchestrating a coup.
Fear reigned in the streets and government corridors about the possible implications of a social outbreak or military takeover. Some units near the National Palace were warned of the possibility of evacuating personnel if things got complicated. However, the institutions, especially the armed forces, remained loyal to the democratic and legal system, arguing that they owed no obedience to “the usurper” who sought to remove the democratically elected powers.
At 3:20 a.m., Dina Boluarte was sworn in as Peru’s first female president in her 201-year Republican history. The former vice president had promised to resign if President Castillo was impeached, although the instinct for political survival was stronger again.
For many analysts it is not clear whether the new president can remain in power without a parliamentary group to support her. But surely it will be the interest of preserving the legislative seat that will drive congressmen to maintain a fragile alliance that will allow both the executive and legislatures to survive.
There is now a fragile alliance in a highly fragmented Congress and clearly facing a political spectrum ranging from orthodox Marxist parties like the current president’s to those of the right like former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori. Congress consists of 130 seats, which formed 14 different benches, with 9 members of Congress not grouped.
President Boluarte has distanced herself quite a bit from the Marxist Peru Libre party that brought her to power, so she will likely struggle to garner support. This party currently has 15 representatives out of the 37 they arrived with. Yet another party in which most of its representatives have withdrawn to seek alliances that improve their own political future. This lack of partisan cohesion and personal interests is likely to make it easier for him to form coalitions to govern the new president.
On the other hand, Fujimorismo stands as the main opposition force with 24 legislators, a cohesive group committed to democratic governance but which has suffered from clearly dejected policies from the left against its political leadership, including humanitarian measures against former President Fujimori and the legal proceedings against his daughter Keiko. This context is likely to complicate negotiations.
The majority group consists of the rest of the legislators, in an amalgamation that ranges from 37 from far-right parties to 14 legislators from traditional centre-right parties such as Acción Popular. President Boluarte has already begun dialogue and consensus-building in a fragmented and highly polarized Congress with extreme views, a task that seems politically and ideologically almost impossible, but where once again pragmatism and the personal survival of legislators lead to agreements that enable the desired political stability .
Surprisingly, six years of political instability seems to have had no impact on Peru’s economic growth, which is set to exceed 3% this year, one of the highest in Latin America. No other country in the region would have endured so much political instability without triggering a political and economic earthquake. The answer lies in a two-century consolidated democratic system, solid institutions that enable governance in times of crisis, and the commitment of its politicians and officials to democracy and governability.
However, we cannot ignore how political survival has been a decisive factor in the emergence and resolution of Peru’s recurring political crises.
This article was published in The conversation.
Source: La Verdad
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