After the recent attempted impunity by three members of the Constitutional Court (TC), with the ruling on the pardon of the prisoner Alberto Fujimori, Congress could now elect new magistrates also related to Fujimorism. This is clear from the list of the six applicants who reached the final stage and the very process of the contest subjected to questioning.
The special commission of the Congress approved on Thursday, in a session held at 10:15 at night, the results of the stage of interviews.
Of the 26 applicants who remained in the race, 20 were eliminated for not reaching the minimum of 30 points. Only 6 managed to overcome this fence and now their names will be submitted to the Plenary Session of Congress to see if they reach 87 votes.
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Close to Fujimori
The first two places on the final list are occupied by postulants of known closeness to Fujimorism.
The first place is held by Francisco Morales Saravia, a trusted character of Fujimorist Carlos Mesía Ramírez.
In 2020, on his way through Congress, Mesía recommended Morales to join the advisory council of the Constitution Commission of Congress. (Each bench recommended who was more akin to it).
Before, in 2019, Saravia Morales participated unsuccessfully in the election for the TC. The process was not by competition, but by invitation only. And this applicant came at the proposal of Apra and had the support of Fuerza Popular.
His election was unsuccessful. That process was plagued with questions, to the point that Congress was closed.
Morales then applied for the TC in 2021, when Acción Popular presided over the special commission. This contest was also plagued with anomalies, the most relevant being the omission of publication of the motivations in the scores of the interviews.
Despite this irregularity, Morales chose to continue in the race, without giving up.
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Now, in the current contest, this applicant shows that he also has the support of Advance Country. The parliamentarian of this group Adriana Tudela assigned him the highest score in the interview stage: 40.
Second place is occupied by Gustavo Gutiérrez Ticse, who repeatedly issued opinions along the lines of Fujimori.
This applicant was saved twice from being excluded with the help of votes from congressmen Hernando Guerra (Popular Force) and Adriana Tudela (Avanza País).
On December 16, 2021, the commission’s technical team recommended excluding him for not including the penalties for traffic violations in his file. However, he was saved with the votes of José Balcázar, Luis Aragón, besides Hernando Guerra and Adriana Tudela.
Then the Comptroller reported in a report that this candidate had a coercive debt with Sunat. Guerra and Tudela defended him in the debate and in the end he was saved.
Already in the interview stage, Hernando Guerra and Adriana Tudela themselves gave him the highest score in his favor (38), compared to the other congressmen.
Gustavo Gutiérrez also presented an amicus curiae in favor of the former presidential candidate of Popular Renewal, Rafael López Aliaga.
The other four finalists
Third place is occupied by Helder Domínguez Haro, who had been excluded. This applicant presented a reconsideration, pointing out that there had only been an investigation but there had never been a sanction (the case had prescribed). The technical team had proposed to ratify his exclusion, but the congressmen reinstated him.
Fourth place falls on the applicant Luz Imelda Pacheco Zerga. She is a lawyer close to Opus Dei. In her recent interview with the commission, she spoke out against the regulation of the crime of femicide.
“It is difficult for someone to kill a woman for being a woman, he kills her because he is jealous, because he is angry, but because of the very fact of being a woman it is very difficult; however, that (the crime of femicide) has been established in Peru,” she said.
His conservative response convinced Jorge Montoya (Popular Renovation), who gave him the highest score (40) in the round of interviews.
In contrast to these supports, the applicant Manuel Monteagudo was harmed because the congressmen did not take into account several of his investigations just because they were in English. Despite the differential treatment, this candidate came to fifth place.
Finally, sixth place is occupied by César Augusto Ochoa Cardich.
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These six finalists remain and now the benches will have to decide who they decide to support. Several already show that they have their candidates.
Final election for the TC would be at the end of April
Once the public contest is over, the special congressional commission has until April 18 to deliver its report to the president of the Legislative, María Alva.
After this, five working days must elapse for the call to a plenary session, in order to put these six candidacies to a vote. 87 votes are required for election.
Gustavo Gutierrez Ticse
He participated in the previous selection process for the TC and did not resign despite the irregularities. He was saved twice in the current contest despite recommendations for his exclusion.
Luz Pacheco Zerga
Candidate linked to Opus Dei. In the interview for this contest, he questioned whether progress has been made in Peru in the regulation of the crime of femicide. Montoya helped him with 40 points in the interview evaluation.
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Cesar Augusto Ochoa Cardich
He has publications with the Editorial Fund of the PUCP. Previously, he was a member of the Police Disciplinary Court in the Ministry of the Interior. It belongs to the Amprimo, Flury, Barboza & Rodríguez studio.
Francisco Morales-Saravia
He participated in the election for the TC when the crisis and the closure of Congress occurred. He reapplied with the previous Parliament and did not resign despite the irregularities. He is close to the Fujimorista Carlos Mesía.
Helder Dominguez Haro
He had been excluded from the contest, because he did not attach open control reports against him. He then he was reinstated by the majority of congressmen. In the previous contest it was pronounced against Sunedu.
Manuel Monteagudo Valdez
Professor of the PUCP. He ranks fifth among the finalists. His investigations were not taken into account by the commission only because they were in the English language. Despite this, he remains in the race.
