Peru’s Castillo renews unlikely push to redraft the constitution

LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvian President Pedro Castillo mentioned on Friday that he’ll search to ask residents in October whether or not they need to rewrite the nation’s market-friendly structure, renewing a marketing campaign promise that he had all however deserted in workplace.

“We are going to current a invoice to Congress … in order that the individuals are consulted whether or not they need a brand new structure,” Castillo mentioned in remarks from town of Cuzco, the place he traveled to quell protests in opposition to rising costs.

The transfer by Castillo, a member of a Marxist-Leninist occasion, requires Congressional assist and is unlikely to be authorized within the opposition-controlled legislature. It marks a renewed push on a marketing campaign promise that appeared to have been forgotten.

If profitable, Peruvians will reply in October whether or not they need to elect a constituent meeting to rewrite the structure, concurrently they vote for brand spanking new regional governors.

Castillo gained the presidency final yr amid pledges to rewrite the structure and re-distribute mining earnings.

His left-wing platform spooked traders and despatched Peru’s sol forex to report lows, which bounced again when Castillo took a extra average tone after taking workplace and eschewed his proposal to redraft the structure.

1000’s have taken to the streets in Peru in current weeks to protest excessive inflation, made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Most of the protesters have been demanding that Castillo rewrite the structure so as to crack down on value hikes.

Peru’s market-friendly structure was handed in 1993 underneath President Alberto Fujimori. The structure stays controversial as a result of it was handed after Fujimori despatched the army to close down Congress and the judiciary, however has been hailed for ushering a brand new period of personal funding that sharply lowered the nation’s poverty price.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Modifying by Sandra Maler)