PERU

On September 18, the Congress plenary rejected the motion proposing to declare the vacancy of President Martin Vizcarra with 78 votes against, 32 in favor and 15 abstentions. The motion came in response to alleged irregularities in the hiring of singer Richard Cisneros, and its defeat means that Vizcarra will continue to exercise his office as President of the Republic.

During his speech, Vizcarra said that the country cannot be put on hold because of the content of some audio recordings lacking “any validity”, and gave some examples of their “falseness”. He added that “the only crime, the only illegal thing, that has been proven so far, is the clandestine recording itself.”

The head of state exhorted the congressmen to make “their democratic values prevail” and work together to overcome the health crisis. At the end of his speech, Vizcarra again apologized to the Nation for the political crisis the affair had created. However, he stressed that this situation should not be used to underscore the current uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

After his presentation, legislators from different parties used their time to argue their position in favor or against the presidential vacancy. The spokesman for Podemos Peru, Daniel Urresti, stated that in his party there was no consensus to remove the president.

Frepap Congresswoman María Céspedes declared that her party supported the motion for a presidential vacancy, with the aim of “initiating a process of transparency” in Peruvian politics.

In other news, the plenary session of the Congress passed the bill to reform the Political Organizations Law with respect to the funding of political parties. The bill states that parties may not receive contributions from foreign non-profit organizations, except when such contributions are for the purposes of education, training and research. The Executive has 30 days to observe or enact the law.