Live
Audio Only
Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski rejected a new request to free imprisoned former dictator Alberto Fujimori as he finds himself in a fierce power struggle with Fujimori’s daughter Keiko, who is the leader of the opposition-controlled Congress.
RELATED: Peru Ex-Dictator Alberto Fujimori Leaves Jail for Medical Tests
Fujimori chairs the ultra-conservative political party Fuerza Popular, which controls 73 of 130 seats in Congress and it forced on Thursday the resignation of Education Minister Jaime Saavedra on charges of corruption.
Fujimori's party has also threatened to vote a motion of no confidence against Kuczynski's prime minister; if they do so, he will have to change his entire cabinet, which consists of technocrats and corporate executives, all graduated from international prestigious universities.
The move sent shockwaves to the government in what analysts say proves that the Fujimori bloc has more power than the president, a former Wall Street banker whose party holds only seats in Congress. Fujimori can essentially block any new legislative initiative pushed by the president and his party.
ANALYSIS:
Peruvian Dictator Alberto Fujimori: Before, During and Now
Fujimori lost the presidential election against Kuczynski last June by a very small margin of 0.25 percent. As a candidate she vowed not to release her father, who is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity. However, after her defeat she has been campaigning to release him.
Officials of the Kuczynski administration said the pardon request was declared inadmissible days ago because it lacked the signature of Fujimori or one of his relatives and denied that it was political revenge.
However, political tensions have reached a troubling level, so much that the Catholic Church has called on the two political leaders to meet and start a dialogue to resolve their differences. Both Fujimori and Kuczynski have agreed to meet next week and to have as a moderator Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani.
Newsletter
