With the results for the bicameral Congress almost defined, it is time to look back at the current unicameral period, which will be in office until next July. And it is necessary not to lose sight of them because the congressmen still have the power to approve the last time bombs before leaving their seats.
The majority of legislators who did not achieve re-election (74% of the 91 who applied are left out) will seek to make the most of the position in the remaining months. The institutional looting of recent years is entering its final stage, and it may be the most dangerous if we take into account that media attention remains captured between the final photo of the presidential elections, the second round campaign and the entrance to what will be the subnational elections.
There are two areas in which the outgoing congressmen will seek to get the most out of their positions. The first is the closest, the legislative, in which they will insert any contraband or seek to revive populist measures. There are several examples, such as the rule that provides for the creation of the Professional College of Artists, in which provisions that affect other professional colleges have been included.
There are also populist initiatives such as the one that proposes a ninth withdrawal of funds from the private pension system (that is, the AFPs). It would not be surprising if, in some of the next plenary sessions, an express opinion is introduced trying to approve said norm, which would mean a contradiction and a great risk for the battered pension system of Peru.
Likewise, Together for Peru – through the Energy and Mines Commission – has been promoting a ruling on “idle concessions” that could give greater incentives to illegal mining.
The second area, less visible, is the congestion that legislators will seek to leave the greatest number of people located in strategic positions in the State. It is no coincidence that, last Friday, the brother of a congressman was detained in a Provías vehicle – an entity attached to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications –, in addition to the fact that he is a person who works for a State supplier company. The perfect triangulation in which parliamentarians place key people in their environment for benefits that exceed the powers of their investiture.
Fuerza Popular and Renovación Popular, which will have important representation in the bicameral Congress, are called to seek a peaceful closure of this unicameral era to be forgotten. If they do not do so, it will be a sign that little can be expected from their actions for the new Parliament, where several unicameral faces will be repeated in both chambers. A worthy way to close this five-year period would be – in addition to not moving anything on the legislative board, especially with a negative fiscal impact – to debate the Ethics reports that recommend sanctioning three congressmen.
*El Comercio opens its pages to the exchange of ideas and reflections. In this plural framework, the Diario does not necessarily agree with the opinions of the columnists who sign them, although it always respects them.
