Politics of Peru

The politics of the Republic of Peru takes place in a framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic,[1][2] whereby the President of Peru is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the Congress. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Peru a "flawed democracy" in 2019.[3] Support for traditional political parties have thoroughly collapsed in since 2000 paving the way for the rise of personalist leaderships.[4] The political parties in the congress of Peru are according to political scientist Lucia Dammert "agglomerations of individual and group interests more than solid and representative parties".[4]

Peru
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Peru
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Congress of the Republic
President Mirtha Vásquez (Interim)
Judiciary


Supreme Court of the Republic
President José Luis Lecaros Cornejo
Autonomies
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
 Peru portal

The historian Antonio Zapata describes Peru as a "right-wing country", the only left-wing government in contemporary history being that of Juan Velasco Alvarado (1968-1975), author of an agrarian reform and the nationalization of strategic sectors. Currently, almost all major media and political parties are in favour of economic liberalism.[5]

History

In 1924, from Mexico, university reform leaders in Peru who had been forced into exile by the government founded the American People's Revolutionary Alliance, which had a major influence on the country's political life. APRA is thus largely a political expression of the university reform and workers' struggles of the years 1918–1920. The movement draws its influences from the Mexican revolution and its 1917 Constitution, particularly on issues of agrarianism and indigenism, and to a lesser extent from the Russian revolution. Close to Marxism (its leader, Haya de la Torre, declares that "APRA is the Marxist interpretation of the American reality"), it nevertheless moves away from it on the question of class struggle and on the importance given to the struggle for the political unity of Latin America.[6]

In 1928, the Peruvian Socialist Party was founded, notably under the leadership of José Carlos Mariátegui, himself an spectator of the European socialist movements, who maintained relantionships with the Communist Party of Italy and the leadership of Palmiro Togliatti and Antonio Gramsci. Shortly afterwards, in 1929, the party created the General Confederation of Workers.

Democratic reform

The Republic of Peru is in a state of ongoing democratization. Led by President Martin Vizcarra, the new government is expected to be transparent and accountable.[7] Previously a rubberstamp body, Peru's unicameral Congress is emerging as a strong counterbalance to the once-dominant executive branch, with increased oversight and investigative powers. The executive branch and Congress are attempting to reform the judicial branch, antiquated and rife with corruption.

During the government of Fujimori the 1979 Constitution was changed after the Fujimori's self-coup where the president dissolved the Congress and established the new 1993 Constitution. One of the changes to the 1979 Constitution was the possibility of the president's immediate reelection (112 article) which made possible the reelection of Fujimori in the next years. After the Fujimori era and Fujimori's resignation, the transition government of Valentín Paniagua changed the article 112 and called new elections in 2001 where Alejandro Toledo was elected. After that, Peru has had all presidents democratically elected.

Executive branch
Government Palace of Peru.
Main office holders
Office Name Party Since
Acting President Francisco Sagasti Independent November 17, 2020
First Vice President Vacant March 23, 2018
Second Vice President Vacant May 7, 2020
Prime Minister Violeta Bermúdez Independent November 17, 2020

Under the current constitution, the President is the head of state and government; he or she is elected for a five-year term and may not immediately be re-elected.[8] All citizens above the age of eighteen are entitled and in fact compelled to vote. The first and second vice presidents also are popularly elected but have no constitutional functions unless the president is unable to discharge his duties.

The President appoints the Prime Minister (Primer Ministro) and the Council of Ministers (Consejo de Ministros, or Cabinet), which is individually and collectively responsible both to the president and the legislature.[1][2] All presidential decree laws or draft bills sent to Congress must be approved by the Council of Ministers.

Legislative branch
Congress of the Republic of Peru.

The legislative branch consists of a unicameral Congress (Congreso) of 130 members. elected for a five-year term by proportional representation In addition to passing laws, Congress ratifies treaties, authorizes government loans, and approves the government budget. The president has the power to block legislation with which the executive branch does not agree.

Political parties and elections
For other political parties, see List of political parties in Peru. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Peru.

Presidential election

The first round was held on 10 April. Exit polls indicated that Keiko Fujimori placed first in the first round of voting with approximately 40% of the vote, with Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Veronika Mendoza each receiving approximately 20%.[9]

The second round was held on 5 June. Exit polls indicated that Pedro Pablo Kuczynski held a slight lead over Keiko Fujimori. As counting continued, the gap narrowed significantly. Preliminary results gave Kuczynski a 0.25 per cent advantage over Fujimori, with less than 50,000 votes between them. Approximately 50,000 votes were challenged during the count.[10] Fujimori conceded the election to Kuczynski on 10 June.[11]

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Keiko FujimoriPopular Force6,115,07339.868,555,88049.88
Pedro Pablo KuczynskiPeruvians for Change3,228,66121.058,596,93750.12
Verónika MendozaBroad Front2,874,94018.74
Alfredo BarnecheaPopular Action1,069,3606.97
Alan GarcíaPopular Alliance894,2785.83
Gregorio SantosDirect Democracy613,1734.00
Fernando OliveraHope Front203,1031.32
Alejandro ToledoPossible Peru200,0121.30
Miguel HilarioPeru Progressing75,8700.49
Antero Flores AráozOrder65,6730.43
Total15,340,143100.0017,152,817100.00
Valid votes15,340,14381.8817,152,81793.51
Invalid/blank votes3,393,98718.121,190,0796.49
Total votes18,734,130100.0018,342,896100.00
Registered voters/turnout22,901,95481.8022,901,95480.09
Source: ONPE, ONPE

Parliamentary elections
Party that received the most votes by region

The election was the most divided in Peruvian history, with no party receiving more than 11% of the vote. The Fujimorist Popular Force, the largest party in the previous legislature, lost most of its seats, and the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) had its worst ever election result, failing to win a seat for the first time since before the 1963 elections. New or previously minor parties such as Podemos Perú, the Purple Party and the Agricultural People's Front had good results. Contigo, the successor to former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's Peruvians for Change party, failed to win a seat and received only around 1% of the vote. The result was seen as representative of public support for president Martín Vizcarra's anti-corruption reform proposals.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Popular Action1,518,17110.2625+20
Podemos Perú1,240,7168.3811New
Agricultural People's Front of Peru1,240,0848.3815New
Alliance for Progress1,178,0207.9622[lower-alpha 1]
Purple Party1,095,4917.409New
Popular Force1,081,1747.3115–58
Union for Peru1,001,7166.7713New
Broad Front911,7016.169–11
We Are Peru895,7006.0511[lower-alpha 1]
Together for Peru710,4624.800New
Christian People's Party590,3783.9900
Direct Democracy543,9563.6800
Free Peru502,8983.400New
Peruvian Aprista Party402,3302.720–5
Go on Country373,1132.520New
Peru Secure Homeland350,1212.370New
Go Peru311,4132.100New
National United Renaissance265,5641.790New
National Solidarity221,1231.490New
Peru Nation206,1281.390New
Contigo158,1201.070New
Total14,798,379100.001300
Valid votes14,798,37980.56
Invalid/blank votes3,570,70919.44
Total votes18,369,088100.00
Registered voters/turnout24,799,38474.07
Source: JNE, JNE

Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice of Peru.

The judicial branch of government is headed by a 16-member Supreme Court seated in Lima. The National Council of the Judiciary appoints judges to this court.

The Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) interprets the constitution on matters of individual rights. Superior courts in regional capitals review appeals from decisions by lower courts. Courts of first instance are located in provincial capitals and are divided into civil, penal, and special chambers. The judiciary has created several temporary specialized courts in an attempt to reduce the large backlog of cases pending final court action.

Peru's legal system is based on civil law system. Peru has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. In 1996 a human rights ombudsman's office (defensor del pueblo) was created to address human rights issues.

Administrative divisions

Peru's territory, according to the Regionalization Law which was passed on 18 November 2002, is divided into 25 regions (regiones). These regions are subdivided into provinces, which are composed of districts. There are a total of 180 provinces and 1747 districts in Peru.

Lima Province is not part of any political region.

Political pressure groups and leaders

Leftist guerrilla groups include Shining Path Abimael Guzmán (imprisoned), Gabriel Macario (top leader at-large); Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement or MRTA Victor Polay (imprisoned), Hugo Avellaneda Valdez (top leader at-large). Both Shining Path & MRTA are considered terrorist organizations.

Non-governmental organizations

In the early 1970s and 1980s many grass-roots organizations emerged in Peru. They were concerned with problems of local people and poverty reduction.Solaris Peru, Traperos de Emus San Agustin, APRODE PERU, Cáritas del Perú, and the American organisation CARE, with their Peruvian location, fight to address poverty in their communities with different approaches, depending on the organisation. 2000 they played an important role in the decentralisation process. Their hope was that power would be divided clearly between national and local governments and the latter would be able to address social justice and the concerns of local people better than the national government could. Some NGO-members even became part of local governments. There is debate extent to which this engagement in politics contributes to the attainment of their original goals.[12]

International organization participation

Peru or Peruvian organizations participate in the following international organizations:

See also

Notes
  1. Part of the Alliance for the Progress of Peru coalition in the 2016 general election

References
  1. Shugart, Matthew Søberg (September 2005). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns" (PDF). Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  2. Shugart, Matthew Søberg (December 2005). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns" (PDF). French Politics. 3 (3): 323–351. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087. ISSN 1476-3427. OCLC 6895745903. Retrieved 31 August 2017. Only in Latin America have all new democracies retained a pure presidential form, except for Peru (president-parliamentary) and Bolivia (assembly-independent).
  3. The Economist Intelligence Unit (8 January 2019). "Democracy Index 2019". Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  4. Vargas, Felipe (November 11, 2020). "Atomización de fuerzas, caudillismos e inestabilidad política: Cómo entender el presente del Congreso de Perú". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  5. http://www.medelu.org/Peru-la-derecha-o-la-derecha
  6. Latin America in the 20th century: 1889-1929, 1991, p. 314-319
  7. "Peru's president doesn't haveroom for failure". miamiherald.com.
  8. Constitución Política del Perú, Article No. 112.
  9. "Peru election: Keiko Fujimori wins first round, say exit polls – BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  10. "Peru election: Kuczynski wins, but Fujimori has yet to concede". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  11. "Peru elections: Keiko Fujimori concedes to Kuczynski". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  12. Monika Huber, Wolfgang Kaiser (February 2013). "Mixed Feelings". dandc.eu.
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