Vizcarra’s proposal now in Congress: General elections a year early, in 2020

Today President Martin Vizcarra will be sending to Congress his formal proposal for a constitutional amendment to bring general elections forward a year, to 2020.  It’s too early to know how this will develop, but despite criticism from the opposition and some business leaders, Vizcarra’s approval ratings are high after announcing his proposal.

Vizcarra made the surprise, and drastic, announcement at the end of his address to Congress on July 28. Given the continuous tensions over the past year between the Executive and the majority opposition in Congress, and the rampant corruption within the Congress and its protection of a corrupt judiciary, lawmakers were bracing for some sort of reaction from the President. But they did not expect this.

For about 90 minutes on July 28, President Martin Vizcarra lulled members of Congress through a litany of his government’s achievements and future goals, typical of an Independence Day address. Members of Congress were remarkably polite — given their performance over the past three years— and except for the occasional clapping and some note-taking, many of the opposition were on Twitter, playing games on their phones, or even nodding off.

But as the last issue in his speech, the President then turned to political reform, setting the Fujimoristas on edge. Many were soon shouting as he outlined the reasons for his proposal.

“We have met obstacles and resistance in carrying out political reform,” Vizcarra said. “Those who fail to put Peru first, have attempted to prevent the reform innumerable times. These evasions were what altered our bicameral project, distorting its purpose and leading us to lose the opportunity to return to a two-chamber parliament,” Vizcarra said.  (In 1992, President Alberto Fujimori closed Congress, amended the Constitution and eliminated the Senate in order to push his reforms through more quickly with only the House of Representatives, in which his party had a majority.)

“We are all writing the history of this country . . . and there will be no real economic growth or social transformation without a reform of our institutions.”

Since Vizcarra was sworn in as President, in April 2018, he and his cabinet have met obstacles in Congress at every turn — as did his predecessor, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski— a situation that was exacerbated last year with the discovery of a network of corruption among justices and state attorneys in the judicial system, and the stubborn refusal by Congress to facilitate investigations into several of the judges involved.  Protest marches against corruption increased.

Following an initial proposal for political reforms in December 2018, in April this year Premier Salvador del Solar took six political reform bills to Congress that would bring about radical changes and transparency in the system of political parties, elections and the Congress.   The opposition majority, the Fujimoristas in Fuerza Popular and the five Apra lawmakers, slowly dragged the bills through the Commission on Constitution, led by Fujimorista lawmaker Rosa Bartra, and changed much of the spirit of the bills. In the bill on parliamentary immunity — which was to be lifted, when required, by the Supreme Court rather than by the Congress as it is today— the majority  refused to sanction the proposal.

“It is inadmissible that someone, just by being a lawmaker, cannot be brought to trial. Our bill proposed that it be another independent instance that would determine whether members of congress can be tried or not.  Where is the confidence that the Congress supposedly has granted us to fight against corruption?” Vizcarra asked the Congress, adding that in every place he travels to in the country, people continually ask him to close Congress.

“The country is “crying out for a new beginning,” Vizcarra said. “Peruvians should be able to choose their destiny to take Peru into the bicentennial…. even though this  may mean that all of us have to leave. . . Let us recover the people’s trust and show the country that all of us, no matter the political flag, are united in the fight against corruption and that we can fight it firmly and with determination. Let us take the country to a new stage, with greatnesss and without pettiness.”