The constitutional reform bill that proposed to ask in the October elections if they agreed or not with organizing a constituent assembly did not pass the filter of Congress. All the benches, with the exception of the left, thus consummated the shelving of the possibility that was opened, by initiative of the Executive, for the total reform of the Constitution.
Early yesterday, in the session of the Constitution Commission the final blow was given, because without further debate a decree prepared by Patricia Juárez was approved, president of the commission, according to which the project of the Executive was archived.
When he upheld his opinion, Juárez argued that we are not at a constituent moment to promote a new Magna Carta, through a constituent assembly.
The Fujimori Congresswoman She was seconded by her colleagues from Fuerza Popular, Avanza País, Renovación Popular, Acción Popular and Alianza para el Progreso. In chorus, they all closed ranks against the referendum.
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In the debate, the congressman for Cambio Democrático, Edgar Reymundo, raised a previous question so that the project returns to the hands of the advisors and is better analyzed.
But the president of the Constitution Commission ignored that request. In fact, she was in a hurry to file the text. Before 10 in the morning, the congressman from Avanza País, Alejandro Cavero, demanded that the project be put to a vote once and for all.
“It is time to give stability to the country, to close this issue and to leave these debates”, Cavero claimed.
Rosangella Barbaran, from People’s Force, intervened with similar allegations from his opposition allies. “Peru does not have to act based on the whims of a certain group, Peru acts based on priority and CA is not a priority,” he said.
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At 10:12 in the morning, Juárez demanded that the debate be speeded up. The congressmen of Peru Libre and Cambio Democrático requested more time for discussion, because when it comes to a subject as delicate as having a referendum that leads to a constituent assembly, the discussion should not be light.
However, Juárez responded that there were only 10 holdings left of his colleagues from the Constitution Commission.
Given this, the spokesman for Peru Libre, Waldemar Cerrón, raised a preliminary question so that the vote on Juárez’s ruling be in another session; in this way, -he argued- the text could be deliberated by more jurists. His cerronista colleague Guido Bellido even suggested that the commission hold decentralized sessions to find out the citizens’ perception of a constituent referendum.
The debate continued for two more hours. The allies of Fujimori continued to attack the bill.
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“If we included the constituent assembly we would be violating the rule of law because it violates a series of essential principles for democracy”, insisted Adriana Tudela, alternate spokeswoman for Avanza País.
Alejandro Aguinaga, congressman and former Minister of Health in the Fujimori dictatorship, defended the 1993 Constitution and minimized the fact that it had been drawn up after the self-coup d’etat on April 5, 1992. “All the other constitutions come from constitutional breaks,” he said, justifying the Constituent Assembly of 93.
After noon, the Juarez commission voted on the preliminary question of Peru Libre. However, this was rejected: 10 congressmen opposed it, six supported it and one abstained.
And then came the final decision. The Constitution Commission put Juarez’s opinion to a vote. With 11 votes in favor of Fujimorism and its ‘variants’, and six votes from the left, it was approved to send to the archive the referendum proposal towards a Constituent Assembly.
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Juarez, Aguinaga, Cavero and Tudela voted in favor of the archive. Jorge Morante and Martha Moyano joined; Luis Aragón and Wilson Soto, of Popular Action; Eduardo Salhuana, from the Alliance for Progress (APP); Alejandro Muñante, from Popular Renewal; and Wilmar Elera, from Somos Perú. Everything was finished.
The PCM ran out of alternatives
With resignation, the head of the PCM, Hannibal Torresruled on the decision of the Constitution Commission. “Congress has already ruled and that ends there. They have already won, we will see what the population will do, but we have complied”, he said. He did not announce measures to save his project.
If the initiative was approved, the regional and municipal elections would have consulted whether or not they agreed to elect an assembly to write a new Constitution.
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reactions
Hannibal Torres, Prime Minister
“The project presented for a referendum was in the field of Congress. Congress has already resolved, it has already ruled and that, of course, ends there.
Ruth Luque, Democratic Change
“Once again the Constitution Commission, chaired by Fujimorism, decides to turn its back on the people. File Decree is a slam of the popular will. There was no wide debate.
