The names of the list of the authoritarian coalition – also called the Democratic Bloc – that dominates the elections have not yet been defined. Congress for the Election of the Board of Directors on July 26but what is certain, so far, is that the Alliance for Progress (APP) formula would be repeated, People’s ForceFree Peru and Advance Country.
Parliament would then remain in the hands of the parties of Keiko FujimoriCesar Acuna, Vladimir Cerron and its allies.
Indecision in APP
This Monday morning, APP spokesman Eduardo Salhuana confirmed to the press that this formula will be maintained – with Acuñismo in the presidency and Fujicerronismo and Avanza País in the other vice-presidencies – to win the Board of Directors of Congress. “In general, this is what is being proposed. I believe that the MDC should be plural and there should be a representative from the left. This will be decided on Wednesday,” said Salhuana at Pasos Perdidos.
In the internal of Alliance for Progress Four names are being mentioned: Alejandro Soto, current head of the MDC, Eduardo Salhuana, Jose Elias Avalos and Lady Camones. The last two are said to be favourites and have a Fujimorist past. Elías Ávalos was a congressman for Fuerza 2011 and Camones was a FP candidate for the Regional Government of Ancash in 2018.
According to legislative sources of The Republic Between Elías and Camones, the balance leans more towards the latter.
The APP congresswoman was elected president of Parliament in July 2022, but three months later she was censured for an audio that involved the leader of her party, César Acuña, and the APEP leadership. Outside the MDC, Camones was entrusted with leading the Subcommission on Constitutional Accusations (SAC) over the last two years. This commission has been crucial for the Executive-Legislative coalition, due to the constitutional complaints against high officials of this regime – Dina Boluarte, ministers, former ministers and congressmen – and which have ended without any sanction so far.
Camones’ administration was important for the Democratic Bloc’s aspirations. The SAC advanced the disqualification of the magistrates of the National Board of Justice (JNJ), Inés Tello and Aldo Vásquez, and the constitutional complaints against the president of the National Elections Board (JNE), Jorge Luis Salas Arenas.
Camones’ entourage responds that the APEP leadership has not yet sent him a formal proposal.
As this is a negotiation process with constant twists and turns, José Elías Avalos now has fewer opportunities. Initially, APP considered giving him the presidency of the SAC. But that was re-evaluated after Fujimori Higuchi’s statements, turning down the possible candidacy of Salhuana, who still has not resisted the possibility of running to lead the Congress.
Soto was also mentioned for re-election. However, his colleague Salhuana disagreed. “One of the principles of the Democratic Bloc is alternation, that is why we are seeing new cadres,” he told the press.
What Fujimorism wants
Last week, to divert attention, APP responded that first the presidency of Congress should be in the hands of Popular Force. However, in the match of Keiko Fujimori They are not interested because of the electoral consequences it could generate for them.
In Fuerza Popular the two alternatives for the first vice presidency are the congressmen Eduardo Castillo and Patricia Juarez. Keeping that position in the MDC allows Fujimorism to maintain control of the Congress’s Editorial Fund and the Office of Citizen Participation.where the leaders are former congresswomen Milagros Takayama and Karina Beteta. In addition, Keiko Fujimori’s party intends to continue with the presidency of the Constitution and Foreign Relations Commission.
The other vice-presidencies
The second vice presidency, which is in charge of proposing which congressmen can travel abroad and of the International Cooperation Office, would remain in the hands of Peru Libre. The internal competition for the nomination for this position is between Vladimir Cerrón’s brother, Waldemar Cerronand his colleagues Americo Gonza Castillo and Flavio Cruz. There are two versions: that there is an agreement for Cerrón’s reelection and that Gonza is the favorite.
And for the third vice presidency, which is in charge of the Citizen Liaison Office, the congressman from Avanza País will be nominated, Alejandro Cavero. The options in this bench were between Cavero and his colleague Diana González. Cavero was the author of the final report that protected Manuel Merino in the Inti and Bryan case and of the constitutional complaint against the president of the JNE for the registration of Antauro Humala’s party.
It has been reported that Podemos Peru considered proposing the candidacy of Juan Burgos, but the Democratic Bloc preferred Cavero.
Benches without option
Although Podemos is not part of the MDC, José Luna Gálvez’s faction will support this bloc. The same goes for Somos Perú, Acción Popular and the Bloque Magisterial. The expectation of these parliamentary groups is to obtain the presidencies of the ordinary commissions that are of interest to them.
For now there is no other block that can stand up to it. Fujicerronism and APP. Renovación Popular launched the candidacy of Congresswoman Norma Yarrow, but she still has no defined formula. In this group they consider Yarrow to be the right person to preside over Congress, but this proposal had no echo in the Democratic Bloc.
The left, made up of the Socialist Bench, Democratic Change and Democratic Front, has no chance of winning – they have 15 votes – against the majority of Fujicerronism and its allies.
He Deadline for submitting lists is July 25but the cards are already on the table. A new congressional period dominated by the authoritarian coalition.
