With more than 64 votesthe congressman of the Alliance for Progress, Eduardo Salhuanawas elected as the next president of the Congress for the annual session period 2024-2025. Following this decision, Patricia Juárez will accompany him in the first vice presidency, Waldemar Cerrón, in the second, and Alejandro Cavero, in the third.
In total, there were 127 votes from the 130 congressmen, therefore, a simple majority of 64 votes was needed, a number that Salhuana’s list surpassed with a total of 96 votes. On the side of List 2, of Silvana Robles, only 16 parliamentarians supported her. 11 were blank and 4 spoiled.
During the vote, the parliamentarians’ atmosphere was calm and quiet compared to the days of the plenary session, when a more tense and heated environment is usually observed.
The so-called list 1, of the Democratic Bloc, had the support of Popular Action and Somos Perú, Podemos Perú and the Magisterial Bloc, as well as the benches to which the representatives of this Board of Directors belong.
Despite warnings from various entities about the implications of his rise to the highest level of the Legislature, the parliamentarian of the Alliance for Progress (APP) bench will preside over the Board of Directors for a year.
Eduardo Salhuana was born and studied in Cusco, but his links to illegal mining have raised concerns that the Board of Directors will be represented by a congressman close to organized crime and illegal economies.
Congress: Who is Eduardo Salhuana and why is Transparency warning about his candidacy?
Eduardo Salhuana was a deputy in 1990 with the United Left party and later a congressman for the defunct Andean Renaissance Party, which is seeking to change its name to Runa and is in the process of registration. Currently, he is a congressman for the party Alliance for Progress (2021). In all his terms he has represented the Madre de Dios region, and in this last election he was elected with just 3,013 votes.
Between 2001 and 2006, Salhuana was affiliated with the Perú Posible party of then-President Alejandro Toledo. During Toledo’s term, Salhuana was appointed Minister of Justice, a position he held for six months before resigning following the fall of the Ministerial Cabinet of Carlos Ferrero Costa.
Before Eduardo Salhuana’s candidacy for the Board of Directors was announced, the civil association Transparencia expressed its concern about the possible election of the congressman as president of Congress. Through its Twitter account, the institution recalled that the parliamentarian has promoted laws that weaken the fight against illegal mining.
“The election of Eduardo Salhuana as president of Congress would be a disastrous step towards the consolidation of the power of the illegal economies that do so much harm to the country. The congressman for 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 posted.
