Politics of Peru

Politics of Peru
Constitution
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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][needs update]} Support for traditional political parties have thoroughly collapsed in Peru 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]

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 in the country 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[]

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The Republic of Peru is in a state of ongoing democratization. Led by President Francisco Sagasti, 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.

On 28 July 2021, radical left-wing Pedro Castillo was sworn in as the new President of Peru after a narrow win in a tightly contested run-off election.^[8] The new Peruvian president Castillo appointed Guido Bellido, a member of Marxist-Leninist Free Peru Party, as prime minister.^[9]

Executive branch[]

Government Palace of Peru.

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.^[10] 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[]

Presidential election[]

Leading candidate by region in the second round.

Leading candidate by province in the second round.

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%.^[11][12]

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.^[13] Fujimori conceded the election to Kuczynski on 10 June.^[14]

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. Popular Action emerged as the largest party with 25 seats. 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.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Popular Action	1,518,171	10.26	25	+20
	Podemos Perú	1,240,716	8.38	11	New
	Agricultural People's Front of Peru	1,240,084	8.38	15	New
	Alliance for Progress	1,178,020	7.96	22	[a]
	Purple Party	1,095,491	7.40	9	New
	Popular Force	1,081,174	7.31	15	–58
	Union for Peru	1,001,716	6.77	13	New
	Broad Front	911,701	6.16	9	–11
	We Are Peru	895,700	6.05	11	[a]
	Together for Peru	710,462	4.80	0	New
	Christian People's Party	590,378	3.99	0	0
	Direct Democracy	543,956	3.68	0	0
	Free Peru	502,898	3.40	0	New
	American Popular Revolutionary Alliance	402,330	2.72	0	–5
	Go on Country	373,113	2.52	0	New
	Peru Secure Homeland	350,121	2.37	0	New
		311,413	2.10	0	New
	National United Renaissance	265,564	1.79	0	New
	National Solidarity	221,123	1.49	0	New
	Peru Nation	206,128	1.39	0	New
	Contigo	158,120	1.07	0	New
Total		14,798,379	100.00	130	0
Valid votes		14,798,379	80.56
Invalid/blank votes		3,570,709	19.44
Total votes		18,369,088	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		24,799,384	74.07
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), (top leader at-large). Both Shining Path & MRTA are considered terrorist organizations.

Non-governmental organizations[]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: It is not clear which NGOs are being discussed, or how broadly this description applies to NGOs in general. Please help if you can. (August 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[15]

International organization participation[]

Peru or Peruvian organizations participate in the following international organizations:

• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
• Andean Community of Nations (CAN)
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Group of Fifteen (G-15)
• Group of Twenty-Four (G-24)
• Group of 77 (G-77)
• Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, part of the World Bank Group)
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
• International Criminal Court (ICC)
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
• International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
• International Red Cross
• International Development Association (IDA)
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS)
• International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)
• International Labour Organization (ILO)
• International Monetary Fund, (IMF)
• International Maritime Organization (IMO)
• Interpol
• IOC
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (correspondent)
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• Latin American Economic System (LAES)
• Latin American Integration Association (LAIA)
• United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
• Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
• OAS
• Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL)
• Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
• Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
• Rio Group (RG)
• Union of South American Nations(Unasul-Unasur)
• United Nations
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• (UNHRC)
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
• United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
• United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
• Universal Postal Union (UPU)
• World Confederation of Labour (WCL)
• World Customs Organization (WCO)
• World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• World Tourism Organization (WToO)
• World Trade Organization (WTrO)

See also[]

• Government of Peru

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Politics of Peru.

• Congress of Peru
• Prime minister of Peru
• Presidency of Peru
• Supreme Court of Peru
• Center for Reproductive Rights Report (PDF format)
• Council on Foreign Relations: Peru's Elections
• Local governments in Peru
• Peru's 2006 Elections
• Peru's 2006 Elections