the desire of Maria del Carmen Alva to be re-elected as president of the Board of Directors was buried by the leak of some audios that revealed something even bigger: the possibility that the next owner of the Congress become the new President of the Republic. This would occur in a scenario where peter castle is forced to resign due to pressure due to advances in research Public Prosecutor’s Office or before a vacancy resulting from the consensus of the political forces of the Legislative power. At the same time, the constitutional accusation against his vice president Dina Boluarte could leave him without a successor for the positionso the choice of the one that will replace Alwa becomes more relevant.
The current legislature was scheduled to end on June 15, but, as one of his last gestures from the highest chair in the Hemicycle, Maria del Carmen Alva extended it until next April 8. However, the next one should also start on July 27, so that in the coming weeks there will be an election of the new members of the Board of Directors of Congress, which will be key to the future of the country.
About, Jose Luis Ramos Salinasa sociologist and political analyst from the San Agustín National University of Arequipa, pointed out in an interview with La República that the Parliament probably gets ready to elect who will be the new head of state: “In reality, Congress is thinking about who they are going to elect as president of the Republic. With a little more than 80 votes, they elect the new president, regardless of what millions of citizens think. The problem is that they will not seek to elect a friendly face or someone who could be accepted by the citizenry, but rather they will elect someone like Mrs. Alva”, he comments.
YOU CAN SEE: Pedro Castillo: the issues that the president must answer before the National Prosecutor’s Office
For her part, the political scientist katherine zegarrain dialogue with this medium, considers that the election of the new Board of Directors takes on special relevance given the possibility that this will be the one led by a new government in the coming months: “We must bear in mind that Peruvian politics is not very predictable and in that sense it is not unreasonable to think that the new Board of Directors is the one that heads the Government. (…) We are talking about a government that can fall; However, we do not know when and we are not certain about how long the Government of Pedro Castillo could last. What does seem likely is that it will not last the full five years,” he stated.
Although there was, in July 2021, an agreement during the election of Alwa what for who assumes the presidency of the Board of Directors the following year is Alliance for Progress (APP)this pact without a signed act could not be respected and that seems to be the path that Avanza País would follow, who begins to talk with other groups to test the ground before a possible candidacy of José Williams, who manages a profile closer to the forces of opposition of Congress.
Given this, Ramos Salinas warns that a presidency of Alliance for Progress either Country advances it would offer us a year of Congress similar to the one lived with Alva at the head: “APP has already shown its intention to occupy it. Even the agreement to name Alva implies that she then had to name them. In reality, the differences between one and the other are minimal because they do not represent a political or ideological project, much less a reform to serve the country. (…) What we will have is a continuation of what has already happened before (with Alva) ”, he maintains.
YOU CAN SEE: Congress: Minister of the Interior must go to the Plenary to explain about the escape of Juan Silva
For its part, katherine zegarra warns that the Congress needs a person who has no questions and who does not generate immediate rejection from the population to contrast with the unpopularity of Maria del Carmen Alva. This person should come from the opposition ranks: “The forces of Congress are measured through numbers. In this sense, the parties that would have the greatest possibility would be those that have a significant number of members and manage to generate consensus with other groups. I think that those who would have the most possibilities would be opposition forces, but that they have the characteristics of an opposition that has not been recalcitrant with the ruling party,” he added.
The main faces for the presidency of Congress
Apparently the presidency of congress would remain close to the opposition forces and therefore the main groups, such as People’s Force, People’s Renewal, Country advances, would feel more comfortable with a candidacy —by APP— of Gladys Echaiz either Robert Chiabra, both characters openly critical of the management of Pedro Castillo. The problem lies in the fact that they would not have the support of their own caucus as they are invited congressmen, in addition to the fact that their votes and interventions in the Parliament they tend to have a dissenting role with respect to the position of the Alliance for Progress on some key issues.
APP’s main card would be Eduardo Salhuana, who acts as a spokesperson for the caucus and, being a person aligned with party decisions and the politics of Cesar Acunais shown as one of the main options to replace Maria del Carmen Alva. In addition, he is a person who could find consensus with the ruling party and the left-wing factions, as he has not shown a confrontational profile against the government since he took office as a parliamentarian.
The fractionation of Free Peru seems to have left them without real alternatives to win the presidency, since now they would have to agree between those who remain in the ruling party and the new benches, Democratic Peru, Peru Bicentennial Y Magisterial Block, all with former members of the ruling party.
“There are now more benches than there were before, but the number of congressmen has not increased, so, added the benches, the votes are not enough to prevent the agreements of the other block. They have enough votes for the Board of Directors to be theirs”, says José Luis Ramos Salinas.
salhuana would not be to the taste of the opposition, for which Country advances I would have in mind Joseph Williams Zapata, who would already be making his first approaches to other benches to see if his candidacy could have support. His strong position of opposition could help you find the necessary consensus to prevail against salhuana. It would also allow him to reach agreements to integrate a list with Fuerza Popular and Renovación Popular, and obtain the support of the center benches, such as Somos Perú and Acción Popular.
