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This is despite the fact that Fuerza Popular, Renovación Popular, Ahora Nación and the Good Government Party confirmed that their parliamentarians will dispense with the benefit.
In dialogue with The CommerceErnesto Zunini, spokesperson for Together for Peru and elected representative, pointed out that his group will have a meeting this Tuesday to adopt a position on the issue. “Our spirit is to ensure the proper use of public resources and greater austerity on the part of Congress, so it is very likely that this will be the case,” he stated.
A similar position was expressed by his colleague Jaime Quito, in dialogue with Canal N: “I consider that congressmen who are installed should not receive it.” Quito is an elected senator and repeats the dish in this five-year period.
This newspaper sought to know the official position of the Civic Obras Party, but at the close of this report the group did not respond or issue a statement on the subject.
However, Jenny Samanez, elected representative of the group representing Lima, announced that she will reject the bonus. “How am I going to collect a bonus if I live in Lima, and I don’t have to settle at all? I’m not going to collect mobility expenses either because I travel by bicycle throughout Lima,” he stressed.
The groups that made it official that their senators and deputies, elected and re-elected for the period 2026-2031, who reside in Lima and Callao, will not receive the bonus, are Fuerza Popular, Renovación Popular and Ahora Nación.
In a statement, published on July 18, the party led by Rafael López Aliaga justified its decision by arguing that this benefit is intended to cover the transportation and installation costs of parliamentarians who must move to the capital to exercise their legislative function for the first time. In that sense, he maintained that those who already live in Lima and Callao do not require said assignment.
“In a context in which millions of Peruvians face economic difficulties, it is appropriate to manage public resources with responsibility, efficiency and transparency,” the group indicated.
Fuerza Popular made a similar announcement. The orange group reported that, in a joint meeting between its senators and elected deputies, it decided that parliamentarians residing in Lima, as well as re-elected congressmen, will not receive the allowance for installation expenses, considering that said benefit is intended only to cover the expenses of those who must move and settle for the first time to exercise their parliamentary function.
“With this decision, Fuerza Popular reaffirms its commitment to austerity, the responsible use of public resources and respect for the money of all Peruvians,” the political party stated.
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On the other hand, through a letter addressed to the senior officer of Congress, Giovanni Forno, the senators and deputies of Ahora Nación, elected by Lima and Callao, made official their resignation from the benefit on Monday, July 20.
The documents were signed by senators Alfonso López Chau, Mirtha Vásquez, Ruth Luque and Jaime Delgado; and deputies Indira Huilca, Harvey Colchado, Ángel Meneses and Bernardino Manrique.
“It is a unanimous decision and consistent with our commitment to taking care of public resources and prioritizing the needs of citizens,” the organization said in a statement shared by its elected legislators.
“In 2016, the year I was elected for the first time, I made the same decision, convinced that it was an unjustified expense. The efficient use of public resources is a principle that should govern throughout the State and even more so in Congress, if the legitimacy lost in recent administrations is to be recovered,” Huilca said on X (formerly Twitter).
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Meanwhile, Romina Uribe, elected representative, said last week, in statements to the press, that the Good Government bench will renounce the installation bonus of the bicameral Congress: “It does not correspond to those who are from Metropolitan Lima.”
The leader of the group, Jorge Nieto, spoke along those lines last Sunday. “The bench has agreed that all congressmen, both deputies and senators, who are residents of Lima and Callao, are not going to collect that bonus that is given to them for installation. They already live here, they do not need it,” he expressed.
Opinions
In dialogue with The Commercethe former senior Congress officer José Cevasco and the specialist in parliamentary issues Alejandro Rospigliosi believed that the parliamentarians elected by Lima and Callao and those who were re-elected should not receive the installation bonus.
Cevasco explained that the purpose of the benefit is so that the parliamentarians elected to represent their regions can settle in Lima with their families.
“Only those who come from the provinces should receive it, not those re-elected or the new ones who come from Lima and Callao,” he stated.
“Congress needs to make this gesture and others to reconnect with the population,” he added.
In addition, he explained that to renounce the bonus they must send a letter to the senior congressional official requesting that it not be deposited and not wait until the money is in their accounts to see if they will return it.
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“An authority, such as a deputy or a senator, who is already installed in Lima and receives an installation bonus, does not seem honest. It is an unnecessary expense and paints a picture of who is opportunistic and who is not,” said Rospigliosi, in turn.
The specialist considered that the bonus should not be deposited automatically but rather to parliamentarians who request it. In addition, he pointed out that Congress must make transparent the names of the legislators who returned the 15,600 soles that were transferred to them for the installation.
Rospigliosi warned that the bond money cannot be used for other expenses such as donations, etc.
FACT
The swearing-in ceremony for senators and deputies elected for the 2026-2031 parliamentary period will take place this Friday, July 24, at the Legislative Palace.
On Sunday, July 26, the election of the presidents and vice presidents of both chambers will be held. The lists of candidates may be presented until Saturday the 25th.
