Peru's Chamber of Deputies rejected a substitute bill requesting special legislative powers for El Nino weather response and citizen security on Tuesday, October 6.
The proposal was defeated by a vote of 73 against, 49 in favor, and two abstentions. Opposition to the measure was driven primarily by votes from the Fuerza Popular and Juntos por el Peru parliamentary groups.
The rejected document was drafted by the Chamber's Constitution Commission and had the backing of the Ahora Nacion, El Buen Gobierno, Partido Civico Obras, and Renovacion Popular caucuses. The text modified the original request submitted by the executive branch, reducing the requested delegation period from 120 days to 90 days.
The Chamber of Deputies forms part of Peru's national legislature, where lawmakers evaluate government requests for delegated powers to address national emergencies. The requested authority was intended to strengthen citizen security programs and prepare infrastructure for El Nino, a Pacific ocean climate phenomenon that regularly causes severe flooding across Peru.
Debate over minority proposal
Following the rejection of the main substitute text, the assembly moved immediately to debate a minority report signed by Deputies Arturo Alegria and Jaime Abensur on behalf of Fuerza Popular.
Chamber of Deputies President Oscar Reto allocated one hour for floor debate on the minority report. That decision generated swift objections from members of the Juntos por el Peru and Ahora Nacion caucuses.
Deputy Ernesto Zunini opposed continuing the session, arguing that three motions presented to the plenary had already been sustained. He proposed raising a preliminary question to bypass debate on the minority proposal, noting that lawmakers had already spent three hours in session and stating that citizens expected a clear answer from parliament.
Dispute over parliamentary rules
In response, Alegria said that his group had presented a revised text at 12:51 p.m. on Tuesday, which condensed the original proposal from 50 points down to 30, and requested that it be put forward for debate.
Zunini countered that modifying a document submitted earlier that morning required strict compliance with Article 78 of the Chamber of Deputies regulations. He stated that introducing a new substitute text requires the formal signatures of spokespersons representing at least a simple majority of deputies, as well as prior publication on the parliamentary web portal.
Following the dispute over procedural rules, Reto suspended the plenary session and summoned the Board of Spokespersons to resolve what he referred to as a legal vacuum in the regulations.
Scope of the alternative draft
The minority report formulated by Fuerza Popular proposes delegating legislative authority for a 120-day period. In addition to public safety measures, the bill incorporates policies concerning micro and small businesses, job creation, productive economic development, and broad reforms to the national tax regime.
