At the time of closing this note, according to sources from La República, the favorite to run with Alliance for Progress (APP) for the presidency of Congress He was the congressman Eduardo Salhuana. While the Fuerza Popular (FP) candidate for the first vice presidency is Patricia Juárez, in Peru Libre for the second vice presidency they were still evaluating between Waldemar Cerron either Americo Gonza Castillo and in Avanza País, for the third vice presidency, the commitment to Alejandro Cavero remains.
This would be the list of the self-proclaimed coalition Democratic Block by Board of Directors of Congress 2024 – 2025.
The choice of Salhuana as a favorite would have the approval of the leadership of the Fujimorismbecause, according to APP sources, he is the one indicated to maintain the alliance between Congress and the Executive. With the presidency of the Legislative, the APEP party will also have control of the Permanent Commission, where the constitutional accusations against Boluarte and other high officials are discussed.
Postulation and contradiction
Until Monday, Salhuana had been declaring that in the new legislature the presidency of the Board of Directors would be for Fuerza Popular and he assured that he is betting on alternation. However, he is now emerging as APP’s candidate to lead Parliament.
The leader of Fuerza Popular, Keiko Fujimorii, stated last week that Salhuana’s candidacy does not have the consensus of all parliamentary groups. Because of that, the APEP legislators were mentioned as alternatives Lady Camonis and Jose Elias Avalos.
But now the Fujimorist leadership has no objections to Salhuana’s candidacy.
The nomination of the APP spokesperson has caused a stir due to his alleged links to illegal mining. Civil Association Transparency He warned that “the election of Eduardo Salhuana as president of Congress would be a disastrous step towards the consolidation of power of the illegal economies that do so much harm to the country.”
“The congressman from Madre de Dios has consistently promoted legislation that has weakened the fight against illegal mining and, according to the Attorney General’s Office, maintains links with actors in that activity, associated with organized crime, trafficking and various related crimes,” he added in his statement.
This warning would not matter to the Democratic Bloc.
Popular Force and the first vice presidency
Fujimorism will bet on legislator Juárez. However, there are internal differences over the position she should hold. Galarreta informed the party, according to a chat published by El Foco, that the agreement is that she will run for first vice president.
But one bloc believes that Juárez should run for president. “He has all the necessary credentials. No one could tell me that he is less than Alejandro Soto – current head of Congress -,” said Orange Congresswoman Vivian Olivos at Pasos Perdidos this Wednesday.
In the end, the FP legislators will have to abide by what Keiko Fujimori and her leadership decide.
The second and third vice presidency
The left’s share would be maintained for Peru Libre in the second vice presidency. On Tuesday it was revealed that the Magisterial Bloc could be part of the table. Two names from that group were mentioned: Alex Paredes and Elizabeth Medina. But in the end the agreement would have been that the Cerronism would continue with that position. In the pencil party the favorites would be Waldemar Cerron and Americo Gonza Castillo.
For the third vice presidency, meanwhile, Cavero will continue to be the main candidate, despite Podemos Peru’s attempts to join the list.
Benches that will support
The Democratic Bloc formula has the votes of the other organizations in this alliance.
Sources of Popular Action They reported that this group will not present a candidate for the MDC, but will support the list of APP and Fuerza Popular. The commission in charge of the conversations with other parties was made up of the president of this party Julio Chávez, the spokesman Elías Vergara and the congresswoman Silvia Monteza.
The other parties that would also support this list are Somos Perú and the majority in Podemos Perú and the Bloque Magisterial.
The list that wins the Board of Directors will be the one that leads the distribution of the presidencies of the ordinary commissions in the Board of Spokespersons. Somos Perú is interested in the Decentralization Commission and Podemos Perú in the Budget Commission.
The commission factor
In this atmosphere of negotiations for the MDC and the distribution of presidencies of ordinary commissions, there is no list that can defeat Fujimorism, APP and their allies. The Democratic Bloc has the capacity to obtain a simple majority of votes in the Plenary.
The Congresswoman for Popular Renewal, Norma Yarrow, launched his candidacy for the Board of Directorsbut at the time of writing this article, she had not yet made a definitive list. Some of her colleagues consider her an interesting alternative to preside over Congress. “She is an important possibility, she has the necessary qualifications,” said Luis Aragón, from Acción Popular.
The spokesman for Popular Renewalr, Alejandro Muñante, considered that the Board of Directors should have new faces and maintained that to demonstrate alternation his colleague Yarrow should lead the Congress. “It would be a bad message for the country if the same benches repeat the MDC, as if there were no more congressmen in Parliament. We must call for reflection,” he said on Canal N.
On the left, for now, no candidate has emerged who can unite all the benches of this ideological trend and confront Fujimorism and APP. Nor do they have the number of legislators that would allow them to achieve a simple majority.
The deadline for submitting the list expires this Thursday at 10 a.m. Only one candidate can be presented per group. Those who are not grouped do not participate. The election will be on Friday, July 26.
The parliamentarian for Honor and Democracy, Jorge Montoya, regretted that this election for the Board of Directors “in the end becomes a negotiation between the Fujimorists and the Acuñas.”
