The presidential sash is usually a symbol of power that does not let those who hold it escape. On December 12, 2022, five days after taking office as president of Peru, Dina Boluarte assured that “she had interpreted the will of the citizenry in the broadest possible way” and that for this reason she had decided to “reach an agreement with Congress to advance the general elections to April 2024″. This Thursday she has made it clear that she will remain in power until July 2026, that is, until the end of the period started in 2021 by Pedro Castillo, today in jail for a failed self-coup attempt.
At the end of January, when dozens of demonstrators had lost their lives during the protests and her governability was already highly questioned, Castillo’s successor called on the Legislature to reconsider the new elections and indicated that if it did not do so, the Executive would present a bill . “Congressmen, you have to understand your historical responsibility […]. Let’s say to all of Peru, with the highest responsibility: ‘we’re all leaving,’ he energetically urged them. He even set a tentative date for the electoral process. “The first round should be the second Sunday in October, and the second round in December,” he added.
That same leader has eaten her words this afternoon from outside the Palace after a meeting with her Council of Ministers. “The press in general knows that the issue of early elections is closed. We will continue to work responsibly and with that respect for the rule of law, democracy and the Constitution, until July 2026,” said the president with a calm tone. Although Boluarte told a local media last month that his intention is to “govern in accordance with the Constitution,” this is the first time that he has stated without hesitation his plan to remain in power in the next three years.
Boluarte came to power after the dismissal of Castillo, who tried to carry out a self-coup. The ex-president ended up in prison and his vice president, Boluarte, became the first female president in the history of Peru. Boluarte was greeted with intense protests in the streets, which the police suppressed. There were dozens of deaths that institutions such as the UN have attributed to the disproportionate excess of the use of force by the police. Although she was highly questioned, both nationally and internationally, the president remained in the chair and, based on her most recent statements, she does not plan to leave it any time soon.
This same Wednesday, Boluarte gave some controversial statements when some journalists, after her meeting with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, questioned her about the purpose of civil society to mobilize again to resume the protests. “From December to February we have been like firefighters, putting out almost 500 violent demonstrations. Right now I make a call to these people who are once again announcing the third takeover of Lima: How many more deaths do you want? For the love of God!” said the president, in what was interpreted by many as a threat to those who decide to go out on the streets.
Last March, the Constitution Commission of Congress did not reach the necessary votes to approve the Executive’s proposal to advance general elections to December 2023. It was the second failed attempt. Before, it had already been proposed that they would be carried out in April 2024. Neither of the two scenarios, however, will take place. They had already been deleted from the discussion in plenary and in the media in recent months. If there is no twist in the script, neither Congress nor Dina Boluarte will fulfill their promise. He We are going all It remains, for the moment, as a slogan for a day.
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