Dina Boluarte gave a press conference at the Government Palace in Lima / Photo: Agencia Andina
The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, ruled out that she is going to resign, demanded that Congress “reconsider the vote to advance the elections” and called on legislators to “reflect and act in the interests of the country”, after The legislative body failed to promote this Friday the Executive’s project to call the polls in December 2023.
“Congress has to reflect and act in the interests of the country. 83% of the population wants the early elections,” said the president. in a press conference from the Government Palace in Lima, echoing a survey carried out by the IEP consultation.
“Gentlemen congressmen, do not look for excuses not to advance the elections, do not abstain from voting, vote directly in the interest of the country. Do not hide behind an abstention. Either it is white or it is black, half measures do not solve the country’s problems,” said Boluarte.
“The advancement of elections is in your hands, the Executive complied by presenting the bill,” he said and added: “I demand that the vote be reconsidered.”
🔴 Official Activity | President Dina Boluarte, accompanied by State ministers, reported on the actions taken by the government in light of the situation in the country.
Live: https://t.co/rPCDUaBS0O– Presidency of Peru 🇵🇪 (@presidenciaperu) December 17, 2022
Congressional rejection
The congress did not achieve this Friday the qualified majority that demanded the advancement of the elections –because it implies a constitutional reform- and before the requested reconsideration could be analyzed, the session was suspended without a new date by the head of the unicameral body, José Williams.
In the midst of crosses and shouts, differences surfaced around whether a Constituent Assembly should be promoted, simultaneously with the vote for president and a new composition for Congress.
The left and center-left benches were the ones who considered that the crisis could not be resolved solely with electionsbut it was necessary to modify the magna carta so that the same thing does not happen to a future Executive as that of the dismissed Pedro Castillo, eroded since his inauguration by a fragmented but markedly opposition Congress.
“There is a group that wants Dina to resign, but what does that solve? Here we are going to be firm until Congress resolves the advancement of elections. You have to stand firm to defend democracy” Dina Boluarte
The session marks another difficulty in the open process with the dismissal of Castillo, on Wednesday of last week, and the assumption in his place of the then vice Boluarte.
“There is a group that wants Dina to resign, but what does that solve? Here we are going to be firm until Congress resolves the advancement of elections. You have to stand firm to defend democracy,” said the president, who said that this is not the time for “political revenge.”
“I did not seek to be here, I protected former President Castillo as far as I could,” he said and added: “I am here fulfilling the constitutional order.”
“Unnecessary violence”
On the other hand, Boluarte described as “unnecessary violence” the protests in various parts of Peru that demand early elections and the closure of Congress.
These demonstrations began on December 7 after the dismissal of Castillo, arrested and accused of rebellion after announcing the dissolution of Parliament.
“What is the purpose of closing airports and burning police stations and judicial branches? Those are not peaceful marchesThey are not social demands”, he pointed out.
“If the Armed Forces came out, it is to protect them because the situation of violent groups was overflowing,” he said when defending the decree that established a state of emergency at the national level for a period of 30 days.
Boluarte assured that these groups “did not leave overnight, They had tactically organized to seize airports and block highways”.
“Underage children died in the course of moving from their place of origin to the capital for a health issue and they were not allowed to pass on the roads,” he questioned.
“They generate terror and honor. Only with calm, open dialogue and peace can we work, ”she concluded.
