Walter Alban He was head of the Ombudsman’s Office for five years. He also headed the Ministry of the Interior for eight months. He has a focused vision of the country that allows him to analyze the political crisis that Peru is experiencing today from various fronts.
There is talk of a vacancy, of early general elections or only presidential ones. What is the solution to the political crisis in the country?
Without a doubt, we are going through very difficult times for the country. It is understandable that there are different perspectives and options are being considered – on which not everyone agrees at the moment – because it has become increasingly clear that a constitutional solution is the advancement of elections. This advance requires a modification to the Constitution, as was done when President Valentín Paniagua took office. Mandates of both the Executive and Legislative Powers were cut. The vast majority of Peruvians – two thirds at least – agree with this exit.
There is still a part of the population that supports Castillo. How would you describe this sector?
LOOK: Migrations: If Juan Silva goes to a checkpoint, he will be made available to the police
In that sector you have to think when decisions are made. One can have the worst concept of Castillo and his government, but we cannot underestimate or not give value to the opinion of the sector of the population that maintains its support. It is not the merits of President Castillo that allow him not to fall any further, but rather a performance in Congress and a somewhat distorted and biased speech in the opposition –by some actors– with racist and discriminatory phrases. There was also a lot of lying with the famous flag of fraud. All this has contributed to the fact that there is a group that no longer believes anyone and thinks that what is now known – the levels of corruption in the Castillo government – is also part of that lie. The demagogic and populist discourse –and half-truths– of Prime Minister Aníbal Torres and his cabinet may confuse for a time, but not permanently.
I turn to look at the electoral scenario and I don’t see the person who will take the flag to get us out of the crisis.
I understand this concern, but we have to be strong and take this circumstance with courage. That is why I say that we should not wait until we already have the leader. There is a bad habit in our culture and it is to think that we must already have the figure that can lead us in a situation of this nature. It is time for sectors, which have been in very strong opposition, to talk and agree on a minimum plan to take steps to strengthen our institutions and not allow the little we have built to continue to be destroyed.
During the week you said that Prime Minister Aníbal Torres was not in his right mind. Is it confirmed in that sentence?
I said that, indeed, and I repeat it. The references we had for Mr. Aníbal Torres were those of a jurist with a respectable career. But it has been a complete disappointment to see his subsequent behavior. He has not had any qualms, for example, in expressing his admiration for the figure of a person crossed out by history as Hitler. He, too, had no qualms about running over the law – when he was Minister of Justice – and illegally and unconstitutionally dismissed the Attorney General of the Republic. From the PCM he gave express orders to those who had to hire state advertising not to hire the media that he did not consider to be friends of the government. He also removed the president of INPE when it tried to advance the release of Antauro Humala. There are two possibilities, in my opinion, to defend a government like Castillo’s –in the face of obvious facts–: either someone is not in their right mind or they have no respect for integrity and values.
Does Castillo need Torres? Is that why he is not able to remove him from the government?
We are witnessing a scenario in which there are several who aspire to replace Torres. We have the current Minister of Labor, Alejandro Salas, or the current Minister of Justice, Félix Chero, who are somehow competing to even replace the president’s lawyers because they have already lost track of what position they have been designated. But the case of Torres is special, he has the luxury of blaming Congress and challenging it to censor him. He gives Castillo greater peace of mind because he sees that he comes out to defend him, says whatever he wants and Congress bows its head. This gives Castillo –who should be thinking of seeing a decent way to withdraw from the government and not lose his freedom as soon as he leaves office– the air to continue lying to the country, to continue playing the victim and pretend that because of his humble origins the country forgive him for being a thief.
KEEP IN MIND
- “Vincent Alvarez He had been carrying out a quite acceptable task in the Dircote, but the journalism showed clear evidence that there was gasoline traffic in that direction and this General Álvarez could not be oblivious. As soon as I was informed of this, I took measures to suspend him from the function”, recalls former minister Albán.
- “There were new charges for facts that were public, such as the famous Death Squad; consequently, it is not a question of a person who has had a respectable career that one might think that his arrival at the command of the Police is designed to strengthen the institution, but quite the opposite, ”he points out.
