Several months have passed and in the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations (SAC) of Congress, the constitutional complaints against the former president are advancing at a slow pace. Pedro Castillo for violation of the Constitution due to the coup d’état of December 7, 2022.
Twice the congressmen delegated in charge of the investigation had to be changed. Added to this is now the claim of legislator Ana Zegarra – in charge of the case – to exclude the former Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism and current congressman from the process. Roberto Sanchezalleging that he was excluded by the Supreme Court of Justice from the oral trial against the former president, today a tenant of the Barbadillo prison.
In addition to Castillo and Sánchez, the complaint also includes former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez and former Interior Minister Willy Huerta. For all of them, Congressman Alejandro Muñante, one of the complainants, has requested a disqualification from exercising public office for 10 years.
The recommendation to exclude Sánchez was incorporated by Zegarra in his fact-finding report under the argument that “there is a ruling from the judiciary that ruled definitively regarding the non-participation (of Sánchez) in the facts under investigation.”
The proposal was objected to by Martha Moyano (Fuerza Popular), who warned that in this part of the process it is only necessary to establish the relevance of the evidence in the case. “There will be a hearing and then the delegate will determine, in her final report, what her decision is and what her recommendations are, whether she ends up presenting an accusation or not. We would make a very serious mistake if we say that it corresponds to her or not (the complaint), or that it must be removed from the constitutional accusation process,” he stressed.
Lady Camones, head of the SAC, also made observations regarding Zegarra’s report in which — she added — her colleague from Somos Perú did not include Roberto Sánchez in the list of defendants whose statement will be requested and among whom are Pedro Castillo, the former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez and the former head of the Interior Willy Huerta.
Furthermore, he questioned the fact that it was stated in the document that due to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Sánchez “it is pertinent to dismiss the constitutional complaint” against him.
Next, Camones consulted with the rest of the members of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations whether or not it was appropriate for these corrections to be made in the report, a proposal that was supported by the majority – 9 votes in favor and 3 against -, so the delegate congresswoman must reformulate her report, add it to the file and continue with the process.
According to article 89 of the Internal Regulations of Congress, what is necessary now is for Zegarra to proceed with the changes in the report and, after reporting to the presidency of the subcommittee, collect in a hearing the statements of Castillo and the other defendants, as well as the testimonies of congressmen Alejandro Cavero and Alejandro Muñante in their capacity as authors of the two constitutional complaints for the 2022 coup d’état.
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