Peru’s President Dina Boluarte presented a proposal in parliament on Monday to be able to govern remotely while traveling abroad due to the lack of vice presidents facing her administration, which has become the first foreign policy for her since the beginning of her administration. It has become impossible to go.
Boluarte became president on 7 December when his predecessor, then-president Pedro Castillo, who had been first vice-president, was dismissed by parliament. Castillo won the 2021 presidential elections with an electoral formula that did not include a second vice president because the candidacy for that position held by surgeon Vladimir Cerón was declared inadmissible.
So when Boluaarte became president, she had neither a first nor a second vice president. For this reason, his proposal seeks to amend the current constitution, which indicates that in the event of a trip abroad, he entrusts management to the first or second vice president.
The presidential initiative indicates that, if he does not have an acting vice president, the president “remains in charge of the office remotely, using the relevant digital technologies for this purpose.”
This is another proposal by Boluaarte that he would like to appoint to the presidency if he travels abroad. He also requested it in late December, but the initiative did not move forward in Congress. On that occasion, his Foreign Minister Ana Gervasi expressed interest in Boluaarte’s visit to Brazil on January 1, 2023 to take over from Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
This is not the first time that a President cannot go abroad during his term because he does not have a Vice President. This happened to Valentín Paniagua (2000–2001) and Francisco Sagasti (2020–2021). Martin Vizcarra (2018–2020) was able to take some trips abroad, but could no longer since his only vice president resigned in May 2020.
Peruvian politics is unstable. Between 2018 and 2022, the country had six presidents: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016–2018), Martín Vizcarra (2018–2020), Manuel Merino (2020), Francisco Sagasti (2020–2021), Pedro Castillo (2021–2022) and Dina Boluarte, from December 7, 2022.
Boluaart’s term is set to run until July 28, 2026, according to the ombudsman’s office, but anti-government protests since the beginning of his term until February have killed at least 49 civilians in crackdowns by security forces. Another 11 civilians died in traffic accidents or other incidents linked to roadblocks by protesters. Seven uniformed officers were also killed.
