Legislator Kelly Portalatino of the ruling Free Peru party, on September 5, presented a motion of censure against the president of the Congress, María del Carmen Alva Prieto, for statements which allegedly promote a coup against the socialist government of President Pedro Castillo.
Portalatino reported on the action through her twitter account. “I have presented a motion of censure against María del Carmen Alva, for her reprehensible and undemocratic statements where she asserts that ‘the street asks for a presidential vacancy,’ presumably with the objective of delegitimizing the Executive Power and seeking to justify a coup d’état,” wrote Portalatino in a tweet.
The measure was taken after the head of the Legislature, in an interview with the newspaper Trome, said that the people are asking for a vacancy against President Pedro Castillo. “There is no request for a presidential vacancy here in Congress. The street is asking for a presidential vacancy,” said the opposition parliamentarian. She also recalled that the presidential vacancy is a resource provided by the Constitution.
The document of the motion of censure stated that there was no evidence to support Alva’s statements. It stressed that under the present circumstances of the country, it is necessary to strengthen the relations between the Government and the Legislature, which it argues Alva is not capable of guaranteeing.
“There is no social scientific survey or other similar investigation that supports such nonsense and irresponsibility of the President of Congress. In these moments of crisis, a cordial, intelligent and democratic coordination between the Executive Power and the Legislative Power is needed to achieve measures, laws and public policies that can help the millions of Peruvians who are in poverty and extreme poverty and the current President of Congress does not guarantee this,” highlighted the document.
The document presented by the Free Peru legislator called on the parliamentarians to remove Alva for “her undemocratic conduct, lack of suitability, judgment and understanding to comprehend the current situation of crisis in the midst of a health emergency.”
The parliamentarian bench of the Free Peru party also strongly rejected Alva’s statements. “Statements of this nature reflect the dark intention to destabilize and weaken the democratic system. Inciting and encouraging the rupture of a democratically elected government constitutes a very serious and disrespectful anti-democratic and pro-coup attitude,” it said in a statement issued on September 5.
The legislators of the ruling party warned that “the president of Congress would be at the forefront of a campaign aimed at seeking the vacancy of the constitutional president of the Republic, Pedro Castillo, in which extremist, radical and fascist groups would be participating that seek to destabilize democracy in Peru.”
They emphasized that they “believe that Ms. María del Carmen Alva, as a result of her statements that show her anti-democratic and pro-coup spirit, should not stay one more minute in charge of the presidency of the Legislative Power.”
Since the inauguration of the progressive government on July 28, the right-wing forces in the country have been constantly attacking it politically, mediatically and judicially. In the first 15 days of the newly formed government, the opposition parties presented a record number of 19 motions against seven ministers. On August 17, former foreign minister Héctor Béjar was forced to resign from his position due to an intense defamation campaign against him in the mass media.
On August 28, the officials of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Peruvian National Police raided six premises of the Free Peru party and the house of its founder and secretary general, Vladimir Cerrón, as a part of the investigation into an alleged corruption and money laundering case. In recent days, various right-wing politicians, including Alva, are calling to replace Prime Minister Guido Bellido.
The platform Social Movements of ALBA, which brings together more than 400 social movements from 25 Latin American countries, on August 22, deemed that these destabilization attempts are part of an ongoing coup d’état. The organization, in a statement, warned that “the coup strategy has as its center the Congress, dominated by the right.”
