President of Peru launches reform that could advance elections until 2020

he President of Peru, Martín VizcarraHe presented to Congress a reform aimed at advancing the general elections from one year to July and said the country hit by corruption needed a fresh start.

Constitutional reform would reduce the mandates of the president himself and members of Congress, said Vizcarra in a televised speech to Congress Sunday. Currently, elections are scheduled for 2021 and the proposal would require ratification by referendum. Vizcarra, who took office last March when President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned in the midst of a corruption scandal, said the population had lost confidence in his government.

The country is plunged into scandals since the Brazilian subcontractor Odebrecht SA Admit in 2016 the existence of a large batch of bribes to obtain lucrative construction contracts throughout the region. Four Peruvian presidents, including Alan García, were involved in the scandal. Garcia was shot dead in April when police arrived at his home in Lima to arrest him.

Garcia's predecessor, Alejandro Toledo, was arrested this month in California, where a judge is considering an extradition request by the Peruvian authorities. A spokesman for Odebrecht did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. Vizcarra said that corruption had damaged the country, affecting economic growth, and that Congress had not done enough to eradicate it.

Peru, one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America, has slowed in recent months due to shrinking mining and fishing industries and the global slowdown. Vizcarra said his government wanted to change a 30-year-old mining law while focusing on a series of projects to stimulate the economy of $ 225,000 million.

The reforms are aimed at easing regulations and encouraging investment in sectors such as agriculture and tourism, he said, while proposing a new plan for the infrastructure sector. The proposals could restore growth above 5%, he said.. The central bank has reduced its growth forecast for 2019 from 4% to 3.4%, after a mediocre first half of 2011.