First setback for Pedro Castillo as president-elect of Peru: the opposition ended up with the leadership of the Congress

An alliance of opposition parties won the election for the head of the Peruvian Congress on Monday on the eve of President-elect Pedro Castillo take office, a sign that the socialist leader will have to fight fiercely for his reform projects.

The list led by the legislator of the centrist Action Populaire party, Maria del carmen alva, exceeded by 69 to 10 votes that of his pretender of the ultraconservative party Renovación Popular, the former presidential candidate Rafael Lopez Aliaga.

Alva, who will be congressman for the 2021-2022 legislature, received key support from the right-wing Popular Force party of former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of the imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori.

The unicameral Peruvian Congress is 130 representatives.

About fifty lawmakers voted for the target, including 37 from the Marxist party and ruling Peru Libre, which had presented a coalition for the congressional board of directors, giving up the possibility of leading parliament when it could not find the right. support from other political forces.. But his list was rejected by the House Electoral Council for procedural flaws.

One of the members of its official list of candidates for the board of directors did not belong to any parliamentary group officially registered in the Legislature, according to the board.

“The first day that a different face must be given to the eyes of the Peruvian people, today we are living the most shameful actAlex Paredes, spokesperson for the Peru Free party in Congress, told reporters, rejecting the decision.

In her first speech as President of Congress, María del Carmen Alva called for unity and “to deposit private interests”. Alva stressed the need to seek consensus in a hemicycle divided into nine different political forces and to dialogue with the executive.

“Let’s put an end to the conflict of powersSaid Alva, referring to the confrontation between the Executive and the Legislature over the past five years, which has led the country to have four presidents in five years and two congresses different.

However, The new President of the Peruvian Parliament reaffirms her commitment to the balance of powers and the current Constitution, which should be the main workhorse in the months to come before the left’s intention to call a referendum to promote a new constitution.

The first activity of the Congress once constituted will be this Wednesday Castillo’s presidential inauguration, elected for the period 2021-2026.

Traditionally, the party that wins the country’s presidency also presides over Congress at the start of government.; and it would be the first setback for Castillo who announced Sunday on Twitter the formation of a official alliance in Congress “for the governability” of the South American country.

One of the obstacles of Peru Libre to find consensus With the opposition parties was his plan to rewrite the Constitution, Castillo’s campaign promise, a goal he had reiterated after winning his rival Fujimori.

Castillo, a 51-year-old son of peasants, will be sworn in as Congress president on July 28, when Peru will celebrate the bicentenary of its independence, then it will give its first message in which it will outline its government plan 2021-2026.

(With information from Reuters and EFE)

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