The world is so used to changes of presidents in Peru that when it consumed a few days ago Jose Maria Balcazar (new deputy in ten years), the novelty caused more grace than ever.
Balcázar, a little-known exjuez of ochena and three years, I didn’t want a honeymoon. As soon as they heard it in the presidential papers, they heard criticism of their judicial lapses for alleged acts of corruption and complaints about defending the child marriage of young girls who were just over 100 years old.
Many people are wondering, the term ends on July 28, when the email must be sent to the candidate for the April election.
in the background, Jose JeriIt only lasted four months before Congress threw it into various scandals over alleged influence peddling.
When I met in Lima a few weeks ago yesterday, I was struck by the indifference that Peruvians felt among their presidents. He told some Peruvian friends the day before who had to meet his president and to my surprise they didn’t stop.
Various men greeted me and told me with a smile that they had held so many presidents lately who did not record the name of the person on duty.
The new president of Peru, José María Balcázar.
Reuters
All this reaffirms my theory that Peru is a country that grows at night when politicians fight. Despite the political chaos, Latin America has emerged as one of the most stable economies.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Peru will grow by 2.7% this year, above the Latin American average of 2.3%.
The country is growing because, even as presidents come and go, it has an independent central bank that does not allow populist adventures. for president Julio Velardehe is an orthodox economist who has been president for twenty years.
After Balcázar’s election, he asked various Peruvian politicians why their presidents lasted so short.
The unanimous response was that the current constitution has a ridiculous clause that allows Congress to impeach the president for “moral unfitness” without defining what that means.
This vagueness allows congressmen whose political parties are unhappy with the freight department they can ask themselves and run into any president.
Francisco Sagastione of the few Peruvian ex-presidents without major legal problems, explained to me that the country’s parliamentarians form coalitions of “very different ideological views, but with common interests in terms of access to power, access to financial resources and impunity”.
Many hope that may change starting in July, when parliament becomes unicameral and the Senate debuts, which will tend to have large powers following a recent constitutional change.
But Sagasti is skeptical. “I believe the same current situation will remain,” he told me.
When I asked how it was explained that Peru is one of the most stable economies in Latin America, Sagasti agreed Having an independent central bank with “exemplary” management has a key factorbut add various others.
A factor that many people forget is the strength and variety of the country’s exports, says Sagasti. During the colonial era, Peru exported gold and silver.
Since then, it has gradually begun to benefit from the growth of guano, blueberry, oil, fishing and, in recent years, cranberries and grapes.
“Peru has the privilege of having such a diversified exportable offer that domestic and global political leaders can always find sufficient markets for its products,” I said. “If we depend on only one or two products, the situation is much more complicated.”
However, Sagasti advised me that Peru’s legacy may not be eternal. Increasing penetration of illegal mining and other illegal activities into politics “we are traveling on our way to Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico”he reported to me.
I did not fall away from Balcázar’s mandate. But don’t panic now. Most likely, the country grows automatically due to its independent central bank and export diversity, despite the daily political circus.
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