Problem and possibility. As Peruvian historian Jorge Basadre said and as Pedro Cateriano (Lima, 1958) recalls in his book Sin Anestesia (Planeta, 2021). Peru lives in this duality, adding in the last decade an unprecedented political instability. The Andean country holds today general elections in a climate of insecurity that plagues the continent.
Cateriano knows the intricacies of the complicated Peruvian democracy. He was a congressman in 1990, Deputy Minister of Justice between 2001 and 2002, Minister of Defense from 2012 to 2015, and prime minister under Ollanta Humala and Martín Vizcarra. Currently, this lawyer and university professor is running as a candidate for vice president and senator for Libertad Popular, a recently formed party led by Rafael Belaúnde Llosa, not among the favorites but aiming to offer a different alternative to other parties. "Peru's drama is that we are a country with great wealth. We have, for example, gas and oil. And due to ideological and political prejudices, we do not exploit it. Libertad Popular is fighting for national and foreign investment," he explains in a phone conversation with EL MUNDO before the tight first round.
Question. How would you explain Peruvian politics to a European?
Answer. Perhaps in the Peruvian case, in politics, fantasy literature is a reality. For the past 10 years, what Peru has been experiencing is a democratic and constitutional anomaly. We do not have a full democracy. Since the moment the Fuerza Popular party, led by Keiko Fujimori, did not recognize the victory of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in a historical context where Mrs. Fujimori had an absolute majority in Congress, this path towards political anarchy began. For the first time, the Constitution was misinterpreted, and the mechanism of "vacancy due to permanent moral incapacity" was used as a method of presidential removal.
Kuczynski managed to survive, won the first vote, but then he gave up and resigned. From that moment on, it was clear in all tones that the country was heading towards political chaos, and that is what we have experienced in the last 10 years. This is the longest period of political instability in our republican history. We have never had, in a period like the one we are living in, so many presidents and such a high turnover of ministers. This undoubtedly makes it impossible to implement any government program.
Q. Peru has had eight presidents in 10 years. How can the country survive in such instability?
A. Thanks to the stability of our currency, the sol. The state's coffers have not been spent more than what was coming in. There has been fiscal discipline that has allowed controlling inflation. But this last Congress has started with populist laws to undermine this economic policy that brought stability to the country. And, on the other hand, there has been a phenomenon, which I warned about at the right time: a Parliament that has covered up and worked in favor of the country's most serious threat at the moment, which is the unstoppable advance of illegal mining. That is extremely dangerous.
There is a sinister political alliance in Congress for the past three years between the left and the right, which have set aside national interests and prioritize their party and political interests. This alliance includes Fuerza Popular; Alianza para el Progreso; Perú Libre, a Marxist-Leninist left-wing party; and until recently another left-wing party, Podemos. In general terms, this alliance has distorted the country's political system and has put in and removed presidents according to their political interests. It is part of a scheme in which the balance between the branches of government has been broken, which is a distinctive feature of any democracy. Today, the Parliament has the Government completely subdued. The current acting President, [José María] Balcázar, is a puppet of Parliament.
Q. There are 35 presidential candidates, do the elections already seem chaotic even before they have taken place?
A. The responsibility lies with Parliament, which distorted the proposal by eliminating the PASO (primaries). Previous elections, as happened in Argentina, for example. In one way or another, this also reflects a crisis of confidence of the citizens towards political parties. Practically, the traditional parties have disappeared, the historical ones: APRA and Acción Popular. Acción Popular was disqualified from the electoral contest due to internal struggles and disputes. And APRA has almost no national presence. So, these so-called owner parties have emerged. Like Mr. [César] Acuña, who is a frivolous character. We have these kinds of people who use political power for their business or personal interests and not to work.
Q. Keiko Fujimori, from Fuerza Popular, who has already tried to become president three times, is the one with the most support. How would you explain that she still has backing?
A. Because she has a political machinery. For example, she has used public financing, state infrastructure, she also has support from part of the Peruvian business sector, and the support of the sector that demands a firm hand without law, as her father did. The dramatic aspect of Mrs. Fujimori's case is that in all the attempts she has made to reach the Presidency of the Republic, anti-Fujimorism has defeated Fuerza Popular in the second round of elections. So, this also proves the anti-Fujimorism that exists, the rejection of the memory of the most corrupt and sinister dictatorship we have had in history, that of Alberto Fujimori. In the end, there is an anti-Fujimorism that rejects her electorally.
Q. Your party, Libertad Popular, for which you are running as a candidate for vice president and senator, has not been mentioned among the possible favorites. Do you think you have a chance among so many presidential candidates? Is it truly a feasible alternative in Peru?
A. Unlike most parties, we believe in freedom. Both in its political and economic content. We have run a very modest campaign. We have not had state funding. We have not conducted a millionaire campaign. The competition has been truly undemocratic, but we are fighting to defend the democratic and constitutional order. We still have in Peru a State that engages in business ventures, that can afford to waste billions of soles, and for example, 3,300,000 Peruvians lack clean water.
Q. In what political spectrum do you place yourselves?
A. We are a liberal party. Some classify us as right-wing or center-right, but we believe that freedom is singular in its political and economic content. As a fact, the last public act of Mario Vargas Llosa was to register with Libertad Popular as a symbolic support because he no longer engages in active politics.
Q. What are Libertad Popular's proposals for Peru?
A. At this moment, the country is facing a serious rise in crime, extortion, and other criminal activity... That is a priority. But from a political standpoint, we are proposing three constitutional reforms to restore the balance among the branches of government. The first is to eliminate "vacancy due to permanent moral incapacity" as a mechanism for presidential removal. It will not be possible to govern the country if we continue with this anarchy, and for that reason, just like any public official, the president should be subject to constitutional impeachment during his term—that is, he should be subject to impeachment proceedings, as occurs in any presidential system. In Peru, this Parliament has gone to the extreme, for example, of applying removal from office to Ms. Dina Boluarte. It was absolutely indefensible, but she had the right to due process and the right to a defense. This Parliament removed her from office within hours. That kind of action does not exist in any Western democracy. We have to put a stop to that.
Second, what we propose is that halfway through the legislative term, there be a partial or half-term renewal of Congress, as occurs in any presidential system. In this way, we avoid having, for five years—as has happened now—a Parliament that has covered up criminal acts, that has constantly violated the Constitution, and that faces no consequences.
And finally, introduce the mechanism of "crossed deaths." If the confrontation between the government and Parliament is constant, the president resigns, the chambers are dissolved, and elections are immediately called to elect a new president and a new Parliament.
Q. Will Peru be able to confront the populism sweeping Latin America?
A. Peru's dilemma is that there is both right-wing and left-wing populism with authoritarian tendencies. This is particularly true of Mr. [Rafael] López Aliaga. That man does not believe in the rule of law; he believes that he is the state. And we have a Marxist-Leninist left that defends, for example, Pedro Castillo's short-lived coup d'état.
Q. How does Trump's new Donroe doctrine affect Peru, or how do you think it might affect Peru?
A. Over the past few years, we have had an excellent relationship with all countries, and naturally with the United States. We aspire to maintain a close relationship.