The president considers that the legitimacy of her government is “unquestionable” because she left the polls, but she demands an electoral advance from Congress
Dina Boluarte, the first female president in the history of Peru, has made it a personal challenge to remain in office until the next elections, when they are held. She expressed it clearly when she put on her shoulders the band that designates her as head of state of the Andean country and she ratified it this Saturday. The legitimacy of her Executive is “unquestionable”, in her opinion. “I am here fulfilling the constitutional order and I want to work with you,” she emphasized. She does not intend to resign and she demanded that Congress approve an advance of the elections, which, however, she rejected on the 9th, when she arrived at the presidential palace in Lima. The repeated voices that demand her resignation are attributed to the machismo of a sector of the population and the political class.
The president feels strong and capable of uniting Peruvians, now divided between supporters and detractors of former president Pedro Castillo, who pays for his failed self-coup with a preventive sentence of eighteen months in prison. To do this, Boluarte will travel with her ministers to various regions and a week after forming it, he will recompose the cabinet of ministers chaired by Pedro Angulo, “to give him greater peace of mind with professionals.”
“I want to personally extend my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in these times where unnecessary violence has been generated for the entire Peru,” he said. More than twenty people have lost their lives in clashes between the different political factions.
«I am not different from the woman who participated in the 2021 elections and I do not understand why the violence in the streets. I did not seek to be here, I protected former President Pedro Castillo as far as I could,” she emphasized.
Back to the polls
Boluarte also demanded that Congress approve a return to the polls next year. «He must reflect and work towards the country. 83% of the population wants an advance. So don’t look for excuses. Vote for the country. Do not hide behind an abstention. Do not come with innocuous pretexts, pretending to stay until 2026, “he stressed in reference to the plenary vote that on Friday rejected a proposal that promoted new elections. Until the polling stations reopen, he will remain “firm” at the head of the Government. “Nobody wants to stay in power. It is Congress that has to define with its participation the advancement of the elections, “he reiterated.
But this delay does not justify the actions of the “conflicting groups” that participate in the violent demonstrations. “What purpose do they have by closing airports, leaving them unusable, burning police stations, institutions of the Judiciary, of the Prosecutor’s Office?” “Those are not peaceful marches, they are not social demands,” he said before adding that the Armed Forces “have taken to the streets” “to be able to care” for citizens and public and private property.
The firm position that Boluarte expressed from the presidential palace is based precisely on the guarantee that he has the support of the Army and the Police, whose headquarters supported him during his speech. After the violent confrontations that have left at least twenty-two dead since last Sunday, the Peruvian security forces reported yesterday that they have retaken control of the majority of highways, airports and strategic infrastructures in the Andean country. The head of the Joint Command, Manuel Gómez de la Torre, stated that normalcy is gradually recovering.
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