Peruvians gave President Vizcarra an overwhelming vote of support Sunday, in their response to the four constitutional amendments proposed in the referendum.
More than 23 million people voted approximately 78% in favor of the first three proposals:
- To implement the National Justice Board, which will appoint and ratify judges and district attorneys and is to replace the now defunct National Magistrates Council, which was riddled with corruption and proven connections to specific political interests.
- To supervise election campaign financing in political parties, which is to include limiting electoral propaganda to equal time set out by the State, and all private donations to be given through the banking system.
- To bar members of Congress from being re-elected. This means that none of the current lawmakers can be candidates in 2021. This amendment by no means guarantees any improvement in the quality of candidates and, of course, eliminates people worthy of the position to continue, but public opinion on the current level of corruption and poor performance in the Congress made this a very popular proposal.
The fourth proposal was to reinstate the Senate, which was eliminated by President Alberto Fujimori in 1992 when he closed Congress in his bid to expedite the privatization process of all state-owned businesses and industries.
However, when President Vizcarra sent his proposals to the Congress in July this year, the Congressional majority —Fujimoristas in Fuerza Popular with the five members of Apra— changed the tenor of the proposal to allow lawmakers, who were no longer able to be re-elected, to stand for election to the Senate and in future rotate from one house to the other.
To prevent this, President Vizcarra asked the public to vote NO on this proposal, since it twisted his initial intention, and people using social media, a powerful influence today, campaigned successfully to vote YES YES YES NO. The result — close to 80% of voters said No to reinstating the Senate.
“Today, Peru was the winner. We have a lot of work to do to take wellbeing to all Peruvians. The task is great but we have the strength and commitment of everyone to put Peru first,” tweeted President Vizcarra.
The referendum has increased Vizcarra’s popularity to more than 70%, among a public that is fed up with the overt manipulation and self-interest in the Congress, the corruption entrenched in the top ranks of the judiciary and protected by the Congress, and the corruption scandals surrounding all former Presidents in the Odebrecht funding and bribery network.
Vizcarra’s continuing popularity will depend much on how he maintains the momentum of the fight against corruption. It will take six months to a year to make some of the changes, working with a Congress that has generally bucked against confronting corruption. However, with the public’s obvious support, the many new splits within the Fujimorista party, and the apparent refusal of the new president of Congress, Daniel Salaverry, to toe the party line when his own political reputation is at stake, the Executive may find negotiations easier in the new year.
