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News > Peru

Peruvian Congress Obstructs Constituent Assembly

  • President Pedro Castillo, Peru, Jan.24, 2022.

    President Pedro Castillo, Peru, Jan.24, 2022. | Photo: EFE

Published 24 January 2022
Opinion

The Peruvian right managed to pass a legal reform that seriously limits the possibility of the Executive branch calling a referendum.

On Sunday, Peru's President Pedro Castillo strongly criticized the opposition-controlled Congress for approving a bill that modifies the "Law on Participation Rights and Citizen Control" (PRC). As a result, the conditions for calling referendums change in an unconstitutional sense.

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He pointed out that Congress insists to maintain a Constitution that mutilates the right to referendum for a Constituent Assembly. According to current legislation, the Castillo administration can challenge the reform of the PRC law before the Constitutional Court.

The refusal of the Peruvian elites to change the constitution imposed during the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori (1990-200) contradicts the democratic order, explained President Castillo, who recalled that the political power in a republic emanates from the People.

Castillo's statements are essentially motivated by the action of the Congress, which established ad-hoc protections for Article 206 of the Constitution so that only a parliamentary majority can approve any constitutional reform.

The actions of the Congress were also harshly criticized by progressive social and political organizations because they seek to obstruct the call for a Constituent Assembly.

According to the current laws, the Executive Branch can initiate a legal action before the Constitutional Court if a norm approved by the Congress infringes the participation of citizens in political processes aimed at carrying out structural changes.

The Council of Ministers also warned that the norm approved by the opposition-controlled Congress violates citizens' political participation rights recognized in international treaties.

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