He has not one but two effective disqualifications from the exercise of public office against him. And in the coming days a third could be added, since today the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations approved the final report that recommends disqualifying him for 10 years due to the closure of Parliament in 2019.
The former president of the Republic Martin Vizcarra Cornejo who, in addition, is currently facing a trial for alleged corruption in the Obraínsa case, however, he presents himself to the public as a candidate and intends to run for the presidential seat. All this knowing that he has a constitutional impediment to participate in the 2026 general elections.
“We have every desire to participate and we are going to apply. There is a very important mass of citizens that supports our candidacy so we are going to work for it responsibly; we are going to be candidates in 2026,” the former president has stated on more than one occasion. , who last week traveled to Iquitos to develop his deceptive electoral campaign with the blessing of the Judiciary that, last December, annulled the restrictive measures imposed on him due to the Lomas de Ilo and Moquegua hospital cases and that, among others things, prevented him from leaving Lima without prior judicial authorization.
LOOK: Martín Vizcarra: Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations approves disqualifying him for 10 years
Vaccine Case
In April 2021, the Congress of the Republicwith 86 votes, disqualified him from holding public office for 10 years due to the so-called Vaccine case. As recalled, in the midst of the pandemic, Vizcarra, taking advantage of his status as President of the Republic, was vaccinated against COVID-19 with additional doses of Sinopharm and arranged the same benefit for his wife Maribel Díaz and his older brother César; all of this behind the backs of the citizens.
Due to this same fact, former Ministers of Health Pilar Mazzetti and Foreign Ministers Elizabeth Astete were also disqualified from holding public office.
The former dean of the Medical College of Peru, Raúl Urquizo, in statements to Peru21specified that the pandemic claimed the lives of more than 600 doctors due to the inaction and indifference of the Vizcarra government.
“We went through the most catastrophic moments in public health, we did not have the right people to direct (the pandemic) and avoid so many deaths; around 600 doctors died and the government did not support anything at all, the resources of the Medical College had to be used to support doctors in the provinces and get them ICU beds,” he recalls.
Faced with this, he regrets that now, despite having two disqualifications against him from exercising public office, the former head of state appears before the citizens as a presidential candidate.
“In this country the authorities give a bad example to the population, they do not abide by the rules, they do not even have a minimum of self-criticism. He thinks that their actions have been correct when the population has the most dire health indicators. The population must analyze the behavior of these authorities, it seems that he does not realize the damage he has done to health, for him everything was perfect when the reality and the indicators have been dramatic in our country, the worst in Latin America and in the world”, he added.
Obraínsa Case
Just over a year after this first disqualification, in May 2022, the Plenary Session of the Legislature, by majority, gave the green light to a second sanction against Vizcarra for his links with private companies during his tenure as Minister of Transport and Communications in the framework of the so-called Obraínsa case. In this case it was a disqualification from holding public office for 5 years. And despite the prohibition to intervene in the management of private companies and associations, the former president did not renounce his shares in the company C y M Vizcarra when he had a seat in the ministerial cabinet.
Despite all this, the former president is currently launching an intense campaign with a view to his candidacy, he says, for the nation’s first judgeship. And he does it through social networks where he presents himself eating, cooking, with his dogs, in pajamas, it doesn’t matter if he makes a fool of himself; Anything goes, the important thing is to have presence.
To this he adds his tours in Lima and various cities in the country where he goes to make promises, question the government, but always without responding to well-founded criticism of his government management and even less to his inefficient actions in the face of the pandemic.
Is there any way to reverse this situation. The former president of the Constitutional Court Víctor García Toma maintained that since the former president does not fully respect the consequences of the disqualification, the attorney of the Congress of the Republic would have to address the Judiciary demanding or requiring compliance with the resolution that ordered his disqualification.
“(Vizcarra) cannot mock the Parliament’s resolution and continue carrying out acts of political proselytism, even deceiving the citizens before whom he maintains that he is going to be a candidate. He cannot found or be part of an organization, he cannot nominate public office because he is disqualified from exercising his political rights,” he indicated.
In interview with Peru21García Toma stressed that the Legislative Attorney would have to accompany his claim with documentation that confirms these disqualifications and prove that Vizcarra is taking a beating on what Congress approved and that he is protected by the Constitution. “If he (Vizcarra) wants to go bathe in Las Huaringas he can do so as a civilian, but he cannot appear at a rally, swear in leaders or give speeches that are related to politics because he is violating the Constitution,” he added.
Can the National Election Jury act? For the constitutionalist, the intervention of the electoral body will occur when the candidate lists are registered, but not now. “He is committing an infraction because he openly proselytizes politically, he cannot run, he is deceiving the public and taking a beating in the Parliament’s resolution,” he pointed out.
“He lies blatantly”
For his part, in an interview with this newspaper, Congressman Ed Málaga criticized Vizcarra’s behavior of “blatantly deceiving and lying to the population.”
“Congress is obviously doing what it can within its scope, which are the disqualifications and they are categorical, this is definitely going to be the case, it cannot be reversed because it is the power of Parliament to disqualify him. Now, the issue also depends on the speed of the Public Ministry and the Judiciary to resolve their cases because until a final conviction is achieved we will be in this limbo. Vizcarra is a prosecuted person who is not convicted; this situation is generated by the slowness of the Public Ministry and of the Judiciary to resolve these very serious cases that really should have priority over others,” he warned.
In this context, the legislator commented that the Prosecutor’s Office could act ex officio and denounce him for generic and ideological falsehood “since he is deceiving citizens in order to proselytize.” “Lying to the country as your government is doing is something that can be channeled towards the Public Ministry,” he indicated and added that the National Elections Jury could also take measures as it did in the case of Antauro Humala. “In his case it was for attacking democratic principles, in Vizcarra’s case it could be because, knowing of his disqualification, he is campaigning and that, if elected, could generate chaos in the institutions and in democracy.”
on the bench
Currently, Vizcarra is being tried for corruption in the tenders for the Lomas de Ilo and Moquegua Regional Hospital works during his term as governor of that region between 2011 and 2014.
According to the tax thesis, he took advantage of his position to deliver privileged information to the Obraínsa company in exchange for the payment of more than one million soles.
Due to these events, prosecutor Germán Juárez Atoche has requested 15 years in prison and his disqualification for 9 years from holding public office, in addition to the payment of S/151,058.
While this is resolved, the accused former president continues to surprise Peruvians by asking them for votes for the election in a position that, in the event of being elected, he will in no way be able to hold, much less honor.
Take advantage of the NEW EXPERIENCE, receive our enriched digital newspaper by mail and WhatsApp. Peru21 ePaper.
Now available in Yape! Find us at YAPE Promos.
