He Purple Party weighs advances and difficulties in an attempt to strengthen a political center towards 2026. While it adds some leaders in different regions, it faces conflicts over its leadership, with the risk of impact on budding applications and the search for alliances with other groups to achieve a competitive option.
He former president Francisco Sagasti He is the ideal option for his presidential candidacy, according to various sectors of the party and related parties who hope that he will change his position of not participating in the electoral contest.
“Our wish is that the best represent us, with which we maintain the hope that historical personalities of our party, such as President Sagasti, will participate,” he says. Luis Duranpresident of the group.
Since last month, Sagasti has been calling to join the Purple Party with a view to the regional and municipal elections to also be held in 2026. In a video, broadcast on social networks, he acknowledges that the group made mistakes, but claims that it is renewing itself. The calendar marks a deadline, which expires today, Monday the 7th, to join and be able to nominate in this process for regional governments and municipalities.
Sagasti has been out of Peru at international events for a week and returns to Lima in the middle of the month. “I’m not aware of the latest events in the game,” he commented briefly when mentioning that expectation from the game.
The former governor of Cajamarca and former congressman Messiah Guevarajoined the Purple Party in May of this year, almost six months after leaving Acción Popular, is another expectant figure, although new, in the organization.
“I aspire to be on the presidential ticket. But it will depend on what the party decides,” said the Cajamarcan leader.
Regarding the expectation that Sagasti would head that list, he added: “For me it would be ideal.”
Likewise, leaders of this political group talk with other groups with a view to recognizing possibilities of building an alliance. One of these is the new political party Now Nationwhich includes the rector of the National University of Engineering (UNI) and economist Alfonso López Chau. Already in February of last year, it was learned that he was summoned by the ‘purple’ leadership and the academic ruled out joining this organization because he is critical of using surrogacy; That is, joining a party just to be able to run.
In Ahora Nación, however, some sources assert that the conversations with the ‘purples’ are still incipient.
The aspiration to join forces in a political alliance has been raised before by Sagasti and is now reiterated by López Chau,
People Firstanother recent party that is now made up of former congresswomen Flor Pablo, Susel Paredes —both ‘exmoradas’— and the former minister Marisol Pérez Tellohas also been part of these conversations.
“There has been nothing formal yet, it has been an approach to one of our leaders. The one we have had the most dialogue with is Ahora Nación. It is still early to close alliances. But it is something that is being discussed. “That possibility (allying with the ‘purples’) is not ruled out,” he says. Manuel Atorepresentative of the Primero La Gente group.
Popular Freedomparty of the former prime minister Pedro Cateriano and the businessman Rafael Belaunde Llosais another group considered in the search for understandings.
“We have exchanged points of view with many groups of various tendencies, but only to talk about the characteristics of the upcoming electoral process. We have not talked about political coincidences, programmatic agreements or anything like that. To define that, there is still one year left” says Belaunde.
The Good Government Party, of the former minister Jorge Nietohas also had some approach to the ‘purples’.
Accessions and brand
The ‘purple’ leaders highlight some adhesions in the interior of Peru. In Ayacucho, the biologist has joined Homero Angoformer rector of the National University San Cristóbal de Huamanga.
In Apurímac, the incorporation of the former congressman still stands out Richard Arcewho already in the 2021 campaign gave his public support to the presidential candidacy of Julio Guzmanfounder of the party and today away from party activity.
In Puno, the educator Leonor Chambi They have maintained their militancy since 2017, when they founded the Purple Party.
In Cusco, the regional movement Autogobierno Ayllu, of the nurse and former candidate for the regional government, has joined Rosmi Rivas Hurtado.
Meanwhile, the Partido Morado continues a process at Indecopi (Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property) to have ownership of the Partido Morado and Partido Morado brands. Young Purplesregistered in the name of Guzmán. However, it is registered with the National Elections Jury (JNE), which allows it to participate in electoral processes.
A statement from Indecopi is expected this month.
Ups and downs
The Purple Party had its best moment in the 2020 electoral campaign for the formation of Congress after the dissolution of the Legislature decreed by Martín Vizcarra. Shortly before the vote, however, the scandal of Guzmán running from a fire in an apartment where he was with a ‘morada’ leader‘ and the electoral potential fell: the Purple Party obtained only nine congressmenbut the surveys predicted greater success before that ampay.
The momentum came from 2016, when in the campaign for the Presidency of Peru, Guzmán appeared in polls close to a victory in the second round against Keiko Fujimori, instead of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, but the ‘purple’, then in another party, He was removed from the competition by the JNE due to flaws in his candidacy procedure.
With that experience, he created his party and in 2020, after the fire scandal, he managed to have a bench that included Sagasti. When that Congress emptied Vizcarra, it appointed Manuel Merino as ruler and he resigned after the deaths in the repression of the social outbreak against this decision, he elected Sagasti to preside over the country in a transition that overcomes the crisis, in the midst of a pandemic.
Guzmán did not recover and in 2021 he barely obtained 2.26% of the votes. The party only had three congressmen, today all were out, and it saved its registration in the JNE.
Now, the leadership faces internal questions. At the end of September, Durán received a resolution from his party’s regional disciplinary court in Lima that ordered him to be expelled from the group due to a complaint from a militant. Aldo Solariwho accuses him of defaming him. Durán alleges that this decision is not valid because the statute establishes that only the national disciplinary court can resolve cases about the president of the party, not a regional one.
“I have not been expelled. According to the statute, this can only be done by a national disciplinary court elected by the Purple Summit (highest instance of the party). The document has been appealed so that everything returns to the statutory channel” alleges Durán.
Luis Arias, until recently secretary general, was ordered to suspend him by the same regional court for alleged excesses in the management of a party chat. Arias decided to suspend his activities.
The party announced that the CEN (National Executive Committee) elected Lilia Salcedo, a ‘purple’ leader who was unsuccessfully nominated by Congress in 2020, as its new general secretary.
For next Saturday the 12th, an extraordinary Purple Summit has been called, which will seek to resolve controversies over disciplinary processes. For Sunday the 20th, an ordinary summit is being prepared.
With 2026 approaching, friction is straining the partisan climate. Some predict Sagasti running for the Senate. Others are suspicious of Durán. One sector alleges that dark forces want to prevail. In the purple month, a miracle is almost missing.
Complaint that escalated in the party
The complaint that is used to order the expulsion of the president of the group, Luis Durán, escalated from a syndication about the accountant’s links with a state company.
Aldo Solari, ‘purple’ militant and former candidate for mayor of San Miguel (Lima), denounced Durán before the national disciplinary court, alleging that he defamed him by insinuating that he wanted to be hired. “I revealed to him that the accountant Mauro Vento was a member of the board of directors of a state company in the Government of Pedro Castillo and that his assistant provided a service to Perú Libre. Vento said that I wanted to be hired and Durán replied to that in a ‘purple’ meeting,” says Solari.
“Vento was the match’s accountant since Julio Guzmán’s board. A report indicated that he was a member of Esvicsac, a state company. Vento never formally communicated that to us. Shortly thereafter, he left that board and continued working in the party until he left,” Durán commented. He claims the case will be reversed.
Data
Journey. In 2021, the Purple Party obtained 2.261% of votes in Julio Guzmán’s presidential candidacy and managed to have three congressmen. In 2022 he achieved a provincial councilor and a district councilor.
Reference. Last August, in a national survey by the IEP (Institute of Peruvian Studies), 1.7% said that Francisco Sagasti would be a good candidate for president. In July 2021, 52% approved Sagasti’s management as president of Peru, in an IEP survey.
Luis Arias, former general secretary of the Purple Party: “Francisco Sagasti would be our ideal candidate”
—Who do you see to try for the presidency of the country?
—We have leaders: former president Francisco Sagasti; the president of the party, Luis Durán; Messiah Guevara Richard Arce; Homero Ango. And other younger ones. Any of them can be a pre-candidate for the presidency of Peru.
—Sagasti denied that he will apply. Is it being reconsidered?
—He is the main asset of the party and an important one of the country. He is the only living former president not accused of corruption. For many of us, he would be the party’s ideal candidate. He has said he has no plans to apply. We hope it is not a definitive communication. We are more than a year away from the registration of the candidates. In Peru and in any country it is a fairly long period in which many things can happen.
—If he persists in not applying, would the other closest option be Mesías Guevara?
—I have pointed out several names to you: Guevara, Arce, Ango, Durán, there are other young people too. We will choose our pre-candidates and candidates through democratic and meritocratic processes.
—Do you plan to participate in the presidential elections alone or go in an alliance?
—The next electoral process will be unprecedented in the country due to the number of parties that will participate. We have 35 parties registered and approximately 30 in the registration process, which makes a total of 65 parties that may possibly participate, perhaps 40 or something more will go. It would be a Guinness record. This generates high uncertainty for citizens. The ideal is that we can form alliances. We had conversations for months with different political organizations.
—Can you say some?
—Now Nation, Popular Freedom, People First, Good Government Party, but they are approaches, not concrete agreements. We also talked with other leaders. There are no adequate incentives in the electoral rules for these alliances to materialize: if one allies with another, the electoral fence (which defines whether the party saves its registration or not) rises one percentage point for each additional grouping. With so many parties, crossing the fence becomes difficult and if one joins with another political organization, the fence grows. We hope for electoral rules that encourage the formation of alliances.
—What is happening in the party that an internal court ordered to expel its president and suspend you?
—A minority group intends to generate uncertainty within. Using unacceptable methods, they have begun an attempt to expel their president, but in violation of the statute, because, according to this rule, the president can only be subjected to an ethics procedure by the national disciplinary court and a regional one has done so.
—Why did you suspend your party activities if you allege that the regional court does not have the jurisdiction to suspend you?
—Because to defend ourselves we need a general secretary that is not judge and party.
