Peru's Foreign Minister, Carlos Espá, said he believes the Bicameral Congress will grant legislative powers to the Executive branch, and predicted that lawmakers who have said they will refuse without even reading the request will reconsider and put Peru first.
Espá also denied reports of disagreement within the Cabinet of Ministers, saying the proposals being presented would be coherent and consistent.
Vinelli cites security concerns
Days earlier, Marco Vinelli addressed the same request for powers, saying the Executive would seek consensus and expressing confidence that deputies would recognize that the security situation demands priority attention. In an interview with Exitosa, Vinelli said the government had presented the public with a complete plan to fight high crime rates and wanted to begin implementing it, adding that the request would be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies on Sunday.
Vinelli said he did not believe deputies would oppose the security measures, noting that the country records roughly eight murders a day. He said the government would explain its reasoning to lawmakers so they could evaluate the proposals. On security, he said Fuerza Popular had proposed from the start that prisons be run in coordination with the National Police and the Armed Forces, and that the powers request includes authorization for the Armed Forces to enter prisons temporarily, with both institutions also needed to support street patrols. He added that flagrancy units would be strengthened to speed up the processing of detainees.
Opposition wants concrete details
The Consenso por la Democracia alliance, made up of Obras, Juntos por el Perú, Ahora Nación and Buen Gobierno, has not ruled out denying the legislative powers request but says it will wait for the request to be formally submitted before deciding. Deputies from those parties told La República that the Executive's proposals must address priority issues such as security and the El Niño phenomenon, and said the ideal outcome would be for the opposition to adopt a joint position.
