First modification:
The Peruvian president will present a bill to include consultations on a new constitution in the next municipal and regional elections. In a separate piece of news, former soldiers demanded the president’s resignation in tribute to the 25th anniversary of the rescue of the hostages from the armed group MRTA. The government accuses them of planning a “coup.”
Last Friday, April 22, the Peruvian president, Pedro Castillo, promised to present a bill to Congress “so that in these upcoming municipal and regional elections,” which will take place on October 2, “the Peruvian people whether or not they agree with a new constitution,” he explained.
In this way, the president fulfilled one of the promises he made during his electoral campaign and after being sworn in as the new president of Peru.
Castillo assured that his government will “deliver that bill” so that it can begin processing “immediately,” although he acknowledged that Parliament “has this power in its hands.”
This, because on April 10, the National Elections Jury (JNE) determined that the call for a referendum to approve a constitutional reform cannot be done directly, since it needs the approval of an absolute majority of the legal number of members of Congress. of the Republic.
If the elaboration of a new Magna Carta proceeds, it will replace the current one, implemented in 1993 by former President Alberto Fujimori.
Former soldiers demand the resignation of Castillo
The same day that Castillo announced that he will present a bill that will allow him to consult the Peruvian people if they are for or against a new constitution, a ceremony was held to commemorate a group of former soldiers who participated in the rescue of the hostages of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in the residence of the Japanese ambassador 25 years ago in Lima.
This tribute was overshadowed by the protests caused by the former members of the command against the president of the Inca country, to the extent that his political party, Peru Libre, has been accused of being close to some armed groups, such as Sendero Luminoso.
About five of the former soldiers left the stage when the head of state arrived and, at the end of the ceremony, approached the press to demand his resignation.
The former member of the commando, Jaime Cabrera, denounced that the memory of the victims of terrorism was being “trampled by this government”, while the ex-military Juan Carlos Rodríguez said he felt “outraged” by Castillo’s presence at the ceremony.
Hours after the event, Defense Minister José Gavidia expressed his “rejection” of the behavior of this group, since it is a “lack of respect” towards the national “heroes”.
The Prime Minister of Peru, Aníbal Torres, was more critical in his statements, assuring that this rudeness towards the highest authority of the Inca country stems from the will of “some high-ranking members” of the Armed Forces to “give the coup d’état” and remove the leftist ruler from power.
Political, social and economic crisis in Peru
Since Castillo came to power on July 28, 2021, Peru has been going through a deep political, social and economic crisis.
The instability within his Executive, reflected in the convocation of four cabinets in a period of nine months, and in the two failed attempts by the parliamentary opposition to remove him from power, have marked his agenda.
Now, the Andean country faces the highest inflation in more than two decades, amid rising prices for food, fertilizer and fuel. Something that has caused protests throughout the entire national territory.
With EFE and local media
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