Peru: Congress Tentatively Approves Plans for Early Elections

Facts

• Peru's Congress tentatively approved on Tuesday a plan backed by Pres. Dina Boluarte to bring forward general elections by two years to April 2024, with 91 lawmakers of the 130-member legislature supporting it in a bid to alleviate the country's political crisis.
• The constitutional reform to shorten Boluarte's term to July 2024 will require another vote of approval by a two-thirds majority in the next legislative period, which starts after Jan. 31, 2023.
• This comes days after another early elections proposal failed to garner enough votes after leftist legislators abstained — making conditional their support on the promise of an assembly to revise Peru's constitution.
• Following this provisional endorsement, Boluarte announced a handful of Cabinet reshuffles on Wednesday — including appointing Defense Minister Alberto Otárola as Peru's new prime minister despite criticism from left-wing lawmakers.
• As defense chief, Otárola declared a state emergency and deployed troops to the street to try to contain nationwide protests against the ousting of former Pres. Pedro Castillo. Some 26 people have died the country's Health Ministry data as of Monday.
• Meanwhile, Lima expelled Mexico's ambassador and gave him 72 hours to leave in protest of alleged "unacceptable interference" by the Mexican president in Peru's internal affairs amid mounting tensions as Mexico has offered asylum to members of Castillo's family.

Sources: Associated Press, Bloomberg, PBS NewsHour, Reuters, CNN, and Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Washington Post. The fact that Peru has already had six presidents since 2016 speaks volumes about the country's political situation and underscores what a difficult legacy Boluarte is taking on. It's a positive sign that the coup attempt by the ultra-leftist and corrupt Castillo failed thanks to the resilience of Peruvians. If Boluarte now succeeds in forming a strong government and implementing structural reforms, there's good reason for optimism for Peruvian democracy.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Foreign Policy. The ongoing protests highlight that the justified ouster of the unpopular Castillo is by no means the end of the ongoing political crisis in Peru. Poor Peruvians have legitimate doubts that the dysfunctional democratic system will change anything about their desperate situation. That's why snap elections would likely benefit populist candidates. It's uncertain whether Boluarte will manage to keep Peru from becoming ungovernable.