María del Carmen Alva against a Constituent Assembly: “Pedro Castillo forgets the country's priorities”

The president of the Congress of the Republic, María del Carmen Alva, spoke out against to consult the population whether or not they want a new Constitution. According to him, there is no opinion poll that shows that the Constituent Assembly is a priority for Peruvians.

Along the same lines, the Parliamentarian for Acción Popular used her Twitter account to ask President Pedro Castillo to give priority to the real problems facing Peruvians, such as the fight against insecurity, unemployment and corruption.

“Mr. Castillo forgets that the country's priorities are the fight against insecurity (Security in Emergency), unemployment and corruption. There is not a single opinion poll where the Constituent Assembly is a priority for Peruvians,” tweeted the head of the legislature.

That was also the feeling of the president of the Congressional Constitution Committee, Patricia Juárez, who said that it is not the time to call a referendum in Peru due to the constant social problems and political crises that it is going through.

In conversation with RPP TV, he said that “cold cloths” should be put on so that entrepreneurs and investors can still trust the country again and called it “irresponsible” to think about convening a Constituent Assembly in the current situation.

“We really wonder if we really - with the uncertainty it generates, without even knowing who are going to make this body of law right now, in the circumstances we are in, when what we have to give the country is tranquility, certainty, put cold cloths so that entrepreneurs and investors can still trusting the country, we could irresponsibly think of a Constituent Assembly,” said the congresswoman of Fuerza Popular.

“The president and his advisers know that this approach is unconstitutional. The only two forms of reform of the Constitution are provided for in article 206 of the Constitution. We cannot talk about calling for a referendum in October, because the elections have already been called. The rules governing municipal and regional elections cannot be changed. The bill is openly unconstitutional, there is no way as the president intends to submit to Congress to amend the Constitution. It again seeks to generate a citizen's expectation that does not correspond to our constitutional channels,” he said.

For his part, the legislator of Avanza País, Diego Bazán, said that with this proposal Castillo breaks the constitutional order protected by his immunity. “He did it by imprisoning Lima, he does it today by invoking the Constituent Assembly on behalf of Cerrón. I hope that this will encourage my colleagues to reduce votes for vacancy; if not, I advance elections... and we all leave,” he wrote on his Twitter.

On the other hand is Sigrid Bazán, from the Democratic Change bench, who spoke in favor of a Constituent Assembly by stating that there is “nothing more democratic than listening to the feelings of citizens, who cry out for real changes, through popular consultation”.

In addition, the former minister of Pedro Castillo, Anahí Durand, said this in response to the demand for a new Constitution: “I hope that approve and check if it is a matter of few or if it is a historical claim of a people fed up with the robbery enshrined by the constitution of the 93″.

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