While millions of Peruvians survive on incomes that barely reach the minimum wage and the State faces enormous gaps in poverty, infrastructure and essential services, the parties represented in Congress will have received, by the end of the current Parliament in July 2026, almost S/78 million in state public financing.
These are resources equivalent to more than 69,000 minimum salaries. Just as he reads it.
With such an amount of money, four bridges could be built like the Ccanchi, in Ayacucho, 110 meters long, which since February of this year has benefited more than 500,000 residents of Ayacucho and Apurímac, and which had a cost of more than 19 million soles. Thousands of wheelchair ramps could also be built on sidewalks or public buildings, and between 25 and 80 kilometers of bicycle lanes depending on the construction standard.
Worse still, the waste of funds in favor of political parties is done with the money of all taxpayers, that is, with the taxes of all Peruvians. Money that ends up, in most cases, in the pockets of the leaders.
MISUSE
In these years, Peru21 has been warning about the misuse of money received by congressional groups. For example, in February 2024 it was reported that the fugitive leader of Peru Libre, Vladimir Cerrón, He received gratification and truncated vacations with the money of all Peruvians.
In 2023, the pencil party acquired a blender, coffee maker, teapot, pot and even ladles with the state subsidy.
The financing that Perú Libre receives was calculated based on the votes and the 37 congressmen with whom it entered Parliament in 2021. However, currently the group He has lost around 70% of his bench and, despite this, he continues to receive the same amount, as if he had not suffered any reduction in his representation.
REFORM NECESSARY
The lawyers specializing in electoral law José Naupari Wong and Alejandro Rospigliosi indicated to Peru21 that the parties have not used the financing adequately.
“Public financing has been used to pay for premises, to pay for the party payroll, to pay for the judicial defense of the leaders, for travel, and not for what it was conceived, which was for training activities,” Naupari lamented.
Rospigliosi agreed and assured that “public financing has not been optimal and urgent reform is required. There has been a waste of resources that is unacceptable in a country like Peru, which has a third of the population living in monetary poverty.”
Both agreed that a legislative reform is necessary so that state money is calculated annually, and not every five years, to reduce the amount of those political groups that lose members in their congressional caucus.
“I do think that we could establish the distribution based on the number of congressmen with whom a party ends the year. As you lose year after year, I will remove you,” said Naupari.
“Let’s take into account not only the vote obtained when entering Congress, but each year the number of parliamentarians who remain in the bench must be taken into account. This would combat transfuguism,” said Rospigliosi.
Although only one legislature is needed for the reform, they pointed out that there is no political will from the parties represented in the current Parliament.
Will any presidential candidate take this necessary reform as a campaign proposal?
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
