In politics there are no coincidences. Keiko Fujimori’s party moves the threads to change the Congress regulations and thus be able to submit to the judicial system officials who are sightd by their group and their allies.
This week, the Fujimorist plan advanced on two paths. First, the Constitution Commission, which is chaired by the Orange Congressman Fernando Rospigliosi, approved an opinion of a bill promoted by his colleague of bench Patricia Juárez to modify article 89 of the Legislative Regulation and allow the Plenary of Congress to suspend high officials – ministers, prosecutors, judges and magistrates – with only 50 votes in constitutional accusations processes.
Hours later, the Subcommittee of Constitutional Accusations of Congress, led by the congresswoman of Alianza for Progress (APP) María Acuña, admitted a constitutional complaint promoted by Rospigliosi and her colleagues Alfredo Azurín (Somos Peru) and José Cueto (Honor and Democracy) against the members of the Board of Supreme Prosecutors (Delia Espinoza, Pablo Sánchez, Juan Villena, Juan Ávalos).
It is a constitutional accusation that questions the Public Ministry for not applying the law that grants the National Police of Peru (PNP) the power to direct the preliminary investigations of alleged crimes. Rospigliosi and his colleagues impute supreme prosecutors alleged infractions to the Constitution, abuse of authority, prevaricate and generic falsehood.
The constitutional complaint of Rospigliosi aims to submit to the prosecutor Espinoza and its counterparts to a political trial that has the maximum sanction the disqualification of the public function. This, however, requires 67 votes in the plenary, not counting the 30 members of the Permanent Commission. It is a number that finds it difficult to achieve Fujimorism (seeing).
The Juarez project, therefore, opens an alternative: the suspension of the senior official while investigating the alleged crimes mentioned in the constitutional accusation.
The background is that Juarez’s proposal will allow supreme prosecutors, including Espinoza, to be suspended from the position with only 50 votes in the plenary.
This amount of votes is more viable to obtain for the coalition made up of FP, APP, Peru Libre, we are Peru, popular renewal, honor and democracy and other groups that have joined the attack against the judicial system.
When the complaint against the Board of Supreme Prosecutors was admitted to the Accusations Subcommittee, Rospigliosi celebrated.
“They are obliged to apply the law, if they do not, they must be sanctioned. It can resort to the TC, as they have done, but as long as it does not fail, they cannot make fun of the law. Enough of abuses and impunity of these politicized and prevaricate prosecutors. They must be dismissed and disabled. Radical solutions!” The Fujimorist exclaimed.
For the Congressman of the Popular Democratic Block Ruth Luque, Rospiglia’s expression reflects the true intention of Fujimorismo with the Juarez project.
“Now who presides over the Constitution Commission reports that SAC has approved its complaint against all Supreme prosecutors that will obviously have to do in plenary. What coincidence, isn’t it?”
“The population must know that the next objective of Fujimorismo (…) is to suspend the country’s supreme prosecutors so that (surely) they impose a reform of justice. But, eye, it is not only fujimorismo, this orientation has the support of other banks,” he lamented. Thus operates FP in Congress.
Disabled Fiscals and Magistrates
In June 2023, Congress approved with 71 votes in favor of disqualification of Supreme Prosecutor Zoraida Ávalos for allegedly not having investigated former president Pedro Castillo. Ávalos resorted to the Judiciary through an amparo action and managed to return to office.
In March last year, Congress approved with 67 votes the disqualification of the then magistrates of the National Board of Justice (JNJ) Inés Tello and Aldo Vásquez. Both also managed to reverse that decision through an amparo. It is not the first time that Congress attacks the judicial system.
