In the midst of political uncertainty and information emerging about irregularities in the Government, the president of Confiep, Jorge Zapata, pointed out that a total reform of the political system is necessary.
Will a change in the presidency at this time affect economic dynamism?
We have had eight or nine presidents in ten years and that cannot continue because it is not good for the country. The facts give indications of behavior that is not suitable for the position that President José Jerí represents, and this must be investigated in depth. He will have to answer to justice in due course, but we have to learn to solve our problems in another way, like in other countries with more mature democracies. In the United States they have a president with a sentence; In Spain, Pedro Sánchez’s government faces several questions, but they are not changing presidents all the time.
What are the consequences of these constant changes?
This brings a series of problems, because you change the president and the ministers, the vice ministers, even the directors of the institutions change, and everything stops. The ongoing projects are reviewed, shelved, and that is not in the interest of the residents who need their projects to move forward. On the other hand, I very much doubt that, with two or three months left, we will have a better cabinet than we have today, because there are good ministers who are doing things well.
And the impact for micro and small businesses, many of which have not yet recovered from the pandemic?
Micro, small and medium-sized companies, for which some issues of unlocking and eliminating requirements are being managed, are directly affected, because all of that stops. We should be focused on the electoral process, listening to proposals and debates, and not only from the presidential candidates, but also from those running for the Congress of the Republic. If we do not focus on the debate, we do not listen to the candidates, we do not know them or explore their resumes, backgrounds, where they come from and what they have done in the past, we are going to choose poorly and in a few years we will be at the same thing again.
And this crisis is not just the Executive’s, right?
Who appointed President Jerí? It was Congress. Now, as they are in the electoral period, they are in a different dynamic. Unfortunately, there is a group of congressmen who have been promoting regulations that do great harm to the country. There is already a bill for the ninth retirement of the AFP, universities are being created, there are expansions of public spending and they want to incorporate retired teachers with the same remuneration of assets, as a kind of living ID. All of this costs the State a lot, which in 34 years has gone from having a budget of S/6,000 million to S/260,000 million. Despite this budget jump, we do not have good health or education services, the roads are not built or are not repaired, and the schools are left half-finished.
Is there concern about the regulations that will be approved in the coming months, prior to the change of government?
The problem is that public spending grows, but not the investment that is not executed. The State has grown a lot in the last ten years, but it has not become more efficient. Of course there is concern that populist laws will continue to be passed. Another issue is Petroperú, which has happily been handed over to Proinversión. There are other entities, such as Essalud, that also consume resources and perform worse and worse. The Constitutional Court, unfortunately, opened a door regarding Congress’ spending initiative.
But the TC has also told the Executive to present an action to clarify the Legislative spending initiative, and so far it has not happened…
This is due to negotiations with Congress, which wants to expand spending, and that should not be the case. We should scrupulously respect the budget and not further expand spending or the fiscal deficit, which is one of the few assets we have as a country.
On the other hand, an Ipsos survey reveals the population’s distrust of some candidates: when asked who they would give the key to their house to, 61% responded no. How to reverse this situation?
We have to carry out a total reform of the political system, an absolute reengineering, and I hope the new Congress or the Executive will undertake it. The reforms made starting in 2018, during the government of Martín Vizcarra, were worse than the disease; The remedy was worse than the disease. Today we have 38 candidates, which is absurd. We have parties that are shells, with very few exceptions. We need a solid party system, with minimum requirements to apply, and for parties to do political work not only in electoral periods.
What will be the role of the business community in these elections and in the change of government?
We have been promoting for a long time that the business community must be more active, they have to buy more lawsuits and enter the field to play more. The persecutions that have occurred by these special tax teams have also affected. I believe that businessmen should support suitable, honest, honest candidates with good proposals for the country, without fear because, otherwise, the field will be free for illegal economies.
Finally, how does the conflict between China and the United States over the Port of Chancay impact?
What it shows is that this war continues to escalate. We should not escalate to a lawsuit of that magnitude over a port. What does Peru have to do? Follow its regulations, its laws and its Constitution. We believe that there should be some supervision and control because the floor has to be level for all investors.
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