Jorge Montoya: "Pedro Castillo's aim is to close the Peruvian Congress"

In the latest edition of the programme 'De cara al mundo' on Onda Madrid we had the participation of Jorge Montoya, congressman of the Republic of Peru, who gave us the keys to the situation of political instability that the Andean country is going through, with a sequence of four governments in the last six months. The Peruvian congressman also analysed the danger posed by the escalation of extreme left-wing populism in the Latin American region.

What is the situation in Peru like?

Right now in Peru we are going through a complicated political situation that cannot be resolved. Since last year, the president has been asked to find suitable and independent people within the Peruvian executive for the third cabinet in order to guarantee that the political line would follow democratic channels. Despite all the contacts made over the last few weeks, when he appointed the fourth cabinet, he made the mistakes that everyone could see, starting with the appointment of the prime minister, a man who was questioned and who did not have the right characteristics for the job. Now we are in the fourth cabinet, where a minister has been appointed who has been questioned because he has changed the attorney general who was investigating the president, an act that is biased and which is very bad for the work of a minister of justice who has been moved from one post to another. On the other hand, the deputy justice minister has resigned with a two-page letter stating that he is resigning as a result of the standards that are being experienced in the Ministry of Justice because they are not at the level of the state. Logically, the opposition has rejected this appointment, and this is the situation we now find ourselves in, with the fourth government cabinet in six months that is once again being questioned.

I am reading a communiqué from the Renovación Popular bench, dated 2 February, under the title "presidential vacancy motion", do you think you can succeed with this initiative to remove the president from office?

What we have done is to state that the analyses for the permanence of the president and the spaces we have given for his political correction and democratic channels have not been successful. We believe that we are not going to gain anything from questioning ministers or censure because the government's line is going to remain the same. Therefore, we are starting to talk about a vacancy motion because a motion was already presented last year where it did not get the necessary votes because it was not presented in a coordinated manner. Now we are trying to convince the necessary number of votes to move forward with the vacancy motion, which is a figure that is being kept there that will not be presented until the necessary votes are reached. On the other hand, at the same time, there is another action that is being carried out, which is the constitutional accusation of treason, which will be heard by the Commission of Constitutional Accusations. 

How are Peruvians experiencing political instability of this magnitude?

The citizens are very worried and tired, they are tired of criticising the cabinets, the opposition and the government. The situation is one of general weariness and this is something that cannot continue and that is why Congress, with the responsibility it has to represent Peruvians, is going to act as it should, defending democracy and Congress. At present, our mission is to prevent the closure of Congress, which is one of the president's objectives, and we will continue to legislate for the benefit of the great majorities while we continue our political struggle in favour of democracy. Peruvians know that we are working along these lines and we have the support of the population and of the country's constitutionalists, almost all of whom agree with the measures we have implemented, we have not gone one millimetre outside the country's Constitution and we are not going to do so. We hope that the results of all the actions we are taking will begin to be seen soon.

A few years ago, the country was an example in Latin America for the way it dealt with the economy and its social achievements, but how could we have reached this situation? Are Peruvians vaccinated, after what they are experiencing with these populist and extremist government options?

Populism is definitely not going to stick in the country because Peru is familiar with communism and we have experienced it in the fight against terrorism for almost twenty years. What has happened is that there have been shortcomings in the application of the economy, forgetting to tune in to the neediest classes, solving the differences that exist in the social field, which are tremendous. All of this is what has led to a person like Pedro Castillo being elected president. We have to be self-critical and know that this is what we have to correct by making big changes in the distribution of the economy, taking advantage of the wealth that is accumulating to give better attention to social issues, improving the health system and the education system, two basic aspects. With these changes, Peruvians will be able to realise that the system does work and that those who have failed are the politicians who were in charge of the country for a period of time. We have to recognise that our politicians failed, they forgot the people and did not tune in to the Peruvian people. The accumulation of wealth without a correct distribution of it through the state agencies to the neediest sectors has not worked. 

Could there be an orchestrated movement throughout Latin America for extreme left-wing populisms to come to power in as many countries as they can?

I am absolutely convinced that there is, and this has been orchestrated for a long time, assigning tasks to the different communist parties that existed and have remained in force among themselves behind the backs of a right wing that did not take them into account. Meanwhile, these populisms have been advancing little by little, we have the case of Bolivia which is very strong, Colombia also has its own problems, the same is happening with Ecuador, because the ideology that they are trying to instil through this forum is still going on. The issue of Bolivia with Evo Morales and his "Runasur", which is trying to form a single community of native nations in the region, something tremendous, is trying to break down borders and destroy the current system. Truly, Ibero-America is going through a complicated situation.