Meeting the Challenges of Peru’s Democracy in a Troubling Crisis of Legitimation
Last Friday, the Panamerican Olympics Games, Lima 2019, started with a breathtaking inaugural ceremony that made justice for Peru’s multicultural diversity and millenary heritage. As the nations of the Americans measure forces in 39 sports, for Peru, another contest is being fought in the political arena. A race between Congress, rule by a widely unpopular opposition party, and a President that has proven to be a skilled outsider, governing along with an overwhelming national sentiment of fighting corruption and ending impunity.
In 2014, Operation Car Wash or Lava Jato in Portuguese started to unveiled a money-laundering scheme in Brazil. A system of bribes and kickbacks involving Brazil’s largest construction companies, senior elected officials, and the oil state company Petrobras. Soon after, its ramifications created a political earthquake that shocked Brazil and eleven countries throughout Latin America. For Peru, this event has proven to be an inflection point in its modern history, a defining event that is testing the fundaments of its democracy.
Odebrecht, the largest construction firm in the region, revealed in 2016 that the company paid 29 million dollars in bribes, kickbacks, and “contributions” to political campaigns in Peru. The money was directed to senior elected officials and political leaders for their “support” to the company. Nowadays, of Peru’s last four former Presidents, Alejandro Toledo is facing extradition trial in the U.S, Alan Garcia committed suicide in the wake of a judicial warrant of pre-trial arrest, Ollanta Humala and his wife are facing prosecution, and former President Kuczynski is under house arrest, all of them for charges related to the Lava Jato case.
Investigations and Prosecution in Peru have advanced in a political environment of confrontation between institutions, political forces, and popular distrust in their leaders. The revelations have exposed the corrupt ways of former Presidents, and it has also shed light on Peru’s Construction Club, a cartel formed by the leading construction companies aimed to secure privileges in all levels of government.
For Peruvians, the Odebrecht scandal and its ramifications have proven what they have long suspected throughout the years, that their political elites have governed for their benefit, seeking political power to perpetuate their corrupt ways. However, this case, for its magnitude of implications, could be the end of the endless cycle of impunity.
Last year, overwhelmed not only by his implications in the Lava Jato probe but also for the scandal of his alleged attempt to purchase votes on Parliament to avoid impeachment, President Kuczynski was forced to step down. Tensions were running high between his administration and a Congress dominated by an opposition party for which its most important feature seems to be their determination to avenge and obtain absolution for their leader, Keiko Fujimori.
The Daughter of 90’s dictator Alberto Fujimori, Keiko Fujimori, was defeated in the 2016 presidential election against Kuczynski and is currently in prison, awaiting trial for allegedly receiving and then covering up Odebrecht’s illegal funds for her campaign. The disgraced politician has continued to be relevant in the national debate as her widely unpopular party has continually attempted to benefit her cause by influencing the judiciary branch.
Congress, under the leadership of Fujimori’s party Fuerza Popular, has protected questionable judges, authorities, and lawmakers from investigation and prosecution on corruption-related cases. These activities, labeled as obstructionists and illegal by prosecutors and civil society leaders, have come with a high cost for the legislative body which approval ratings hit 19% at the end of the legislative session this July.
Under the motto, Every One of Them Must Leave! or ¡Que Se Vayan Todos! in Spanish, Public sentiment was organized in national demonstrations towards renovating politics and calling for new general elections. In the middle of this unique political drama, two actors with significant popular support have risen in the national scene, the Special Prosecution Office in charge of the Lava Jato investigations, and the successor of former President Kuczynski, Martin Vizcarra.
Without links to the Lava Jato scandal and with approval ratings relatively higher than his predecessors, Martin Vizcarra has shown to be a groundbreaking leader, channeling public discontent into reforms. For Vizcarra taking distance from political parties including PPK, the one that launched his candidacy for First Vice President along with Kuczynski, is an asset rather than a casualty.
President Vizcarra is not only dealing with the aftershocks of the Odebrecht case but also with a slowing economy, rising social tensions, and the Lava-Juez scandal. This major investigation has exposed the corruption networks of clientelism that have dominated the judicial branch. The effects of the probe have nourished the investigations on Keiko Fujimori’s alleged attempts to obstruct justice.
Vizcarra has focused his administration on delivering political and judicial reforms to address what he has recently called an institutional crisis. Amendments legitimized through a referendum, followed by an additional set of constitutional reforms have been labeled by his opponents as populism. Vizcarra claims that these measures are aimed to change the structural conditions that have created the deadlock dominating national politics.
The constitution allows the Executive Branch to request Congress for a vote of confidence for such initiatives. If two votes are denied, the president is enabled to convoke new parliamentary elections. Recently, Congress passed the amendments requested by the President, but included a series of controversial modifications, maintaining the unpopular parliamentary immunity, a matter subjected to Vizcarra’s request of confidence.
On Sunday, Peru celebrated its independence day with the traditional presidential message at Congress. The President in the last minutes of his address surprised the Chamber by proposing an amendment to call for general elections one year early and end the political crisis by 2020.
Elections in Peru are generally defined by charisma rather than policy. New elections could rearrange the political map in a moment where dominant parties have lost popular support, and new political forces keep pressing for momentum. Can this challenging sociopolitical landscape give rise to moderate leaders that mimic Vizcarra’s political approach or is Peru vulnerable to follow a dangerous path of polarization once again?
In Brazil, corruption, economic recession, and a conservative movement gave rise to Bolsonaro and his far-right movement. In Peru, could these same conditions, in the current climate, develop a similar political phenomenon?
In the last years, Peru has seen the appearance of new political forces. In one hand, a progressive movement supported by a younger generation. At the other, religious-related organizations building political spaces to promote their conservative agenda.
Peru approaches a possible election season in a world where economic tensions and protectionism are threatening the economic foundations of Latin America. Although the economy of Peru has continued to grow under political uncertainty, these rates have not indicated a long-term economic recovery.
Social tensions related to the exploitation of natural resources have remained as a result of decades of mismanagement and controversial regulation of investments in extractive industries. Ongoing protests in the southern regions of Peru after the concession of the new mining project of Tia Maria in Arequipa is a reminder of persistent socioeconomic inequalities.
Since the restoration of democracy in 2000, Peru has made world headlights for its economic growth, cultural diversity, and rich gastronomy. Amid such promising times, corruption and political turmoil have challenged Peru’s apparently story of success and its democratic foundation. Change is definitely on the horizon for the young democracy, and whether or not their politicians learn of their mistakes and meet the current challenges, will determine its outcome.
