Fearing authoritarianism, young Peruvians battle constitutional change
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Howard LaFranchi Staff writer
| LIMA, Peru
On busy Jir贸n de la Uni贸n in the Peruvian capital鈥檚 historic center, young fathers relent to children begging for electric-colored cotton candy, while couples wait in line for a just-from-the-fryer churro with arequipe, a liquidy caramel dear to Lime帽os.听听 听 听 听听
Few of those strolling the tidy pedestrian street acknowledge a group of activists, mostly young people, arrayed in T-shirts emblazoned with 鈥淣o to communism!鈥� and holding aloft signs declaring 鈥淣o to the constituent assembly.鈥�
But occasionally a passerby stops to inquire about the group, and 鈥� if the activists can make their case 鈥� to sign a petition to stop Peru鈥檚 self-declared 鈥淢arxist-Leninist鈥� president, Pedro Castillo, from succeeding in delivering a new constitution through a constituent assembly.
Why We Wrote This
Latin American populists have consolidated power at the expense of democracy. The region鈥檚 youths are now standing up to defend the democratic order.
A new charter was a campaign promise of Mr. Castillo, a former elementary听school teacher.听But after Mr. Castillo鈥檚听surprise victory in a bitterly won race in July, his critics worry he plans to lead Peru down the path of other Latin American听countries where democracy has withered.听From the late Venezuelan President Hugo Ch谩vez听and his successor Nicol谩s Maduro to Evo Morales in Bolivia and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, the region鈥檚 leftist populists have used constitutional reform and weak institutions to consolidate power.听
Now a group of young Peruvians is determined to not let the same happen at home. In their fight, they join young counterparts across the continent who are leading political and social movements against the ruling classes to drive change.
In Argentina, armies of young women have mobilized to demand greater gender equality, last year succeeding in a hard-fought campaign to legalize abortion. In Chile in 2019, it was largely youths fed up with watching their country鈥檚 rising prosperity pass them by who filled the streets, brought Chile to a standstill, and won economic concessions and a process to deliver a replacement to the Pinochet dictatorship-era constitution.
And in Cuba, young people are at the forefront听of an unprecedented protest movement pressing the government on deteriorating economic听conditions and human rights听abuses.听Tensions were high听in Havana Monday听as authorities squelched a planned national day of protest, including with house arrests of dissidents.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want our dear Peru to become another Venezuela,鈥� says Armando Tapia, part of the small group seeking signatures on a recent Sunday afternoon. 鈥淗ugo Ch谩vez听stayed in power by rewriting the constitution first,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd our president wants to follow in those footsteps. We say no!鈥�
鈥淪laughterhouse of democracy鈥�
In some ways their 鈥渘o鈥� campaign is preemptive. President Castillo has only been in power for four months after eking out a victory with 20% of the first-round vote. Though he was backed by the Marxist Free Peru, he has since irked the party after replacing his far-left prime minister with a more moderate one who recently said constitutional reform is not a priority.
Still, Lucas Ghersi, the young constitutional lawyer leading the 鈥渘o鈥� campaign, says they can鈥檛 take any chances: Recent regional history shows that complacency is the authoritarian鈥檚 friend.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want Peru to be the sheep that walks into the slaughterhouse of democracy,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e want to stand up while there is time and stop that from happening.鈥�
Speaking in his office in a tony section of Lima, he is surrounded by stacks of some of the 1.3 million signatures his group has collected so far. He says he aims for an effort so overwhelming 鈥� collecting 3 million signatures in all 鈥� that it forces Congress to approve a national referendum on President Castillo鈥檚 constituent assembly plan.
The son of a high-profile Lima lawyer father and a media darling among the anti-Castillo press, Mr. Ghersi recognizes he is the son of privilege. Some critics insist his campaign is really about preserving the status quo, including Peru鈥檚 pro-market-economy constitution.
He maintains his campaign is not about class but about safeguarding the freedoms 鈥� including the freedom to improve oneself economically 鈥� of all Peruvians.听 听 听 听 听
It was many of the poorest Peruvians who wanted this change in the first place. Peru鈥檚 constitution was written at the end of the rule of the country鈥檚 last dictator, Alberto Fujimori. Amendments over the years have resulted in a notoriously weak presidency, exacerbating Peruvian political instability. Over the span of one week last year, the country had three different presidents, a level of political turmoil that had demonstrators in the streets demanding a new constitution.
The case for change
The constitution does need refreshing, says Milagros Campos, a constitutional scholar at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, especially to forge a stronger presidency. But Mr. Castillo鈥檚 constitutional rewrite proposal today faces widespread opposition, with nearly of Peruvians opposed to a complete overhaul.
Many of them simply distrust the president鈥檚 real motivations. Older Peruvians who lived through military dictatorship and the dark years of the Shining Path, the Marxist and Maoist-inspired group that waged a deadly guerrilla war in the 1980s and early 1990s, fear a return to their past.听
For younger Peruvians who only know Shining Path and military dictatorship from history books, Mr. Ghersi adds, it鈥檚 the real-time experience of authoritarianism鈥檚 rise around the region that drives them. They鈥檝e seen 1 million Venezuelan refugees arrive in Peru, according to the United Nations, many of them youths.
Institutional reform doesn鈥檛 figure on most Peruvians鈥� priority list either, says Professor Campos. 鈥淭here are more poor Peruvians than a few years ago. People are worried about jobs and getting by,鈥� she says. After a period of remarkable economic growth and rising prosperity, Peru was hit hard by the pandemic and growth crashed. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a feeling that constitutional reform is not the change people need right now to improve their lives.鈥�
An expert in Latin American constitutions, Professor Campos says the region鈥檚 many efforts at constitutional reform over recent years have largely fallen into two categories: political reforms, as in Bolivia and Ecuador, that have concentrated executive power; and the response to demands for economic and social reforms to dated constitutions, as in Chile and Colombia, that empower elites.
Peru鈥檚 case is more complex, she says, because it鈥檚 a mix of all these factors at once. In this context Professor Campos says the campaign against a constitutional assembly stands out as a 鈥渘o鈥� to any change 鈥� not the solution she believes Peru needs, or wants.
鈥淭he president鈥檚 idea of a new constitution is a little radical, and I understand the worries that it would open up the country to too many uncertainties or that the process to get to this new constitution would not be open to all Peruvians,鈥� says Annie Mego, an occupational psychologist at an insurance company. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean there should be no change,鈥� she says, citing victims鈥� rights and stronger anti-corruption laws as her priorities.
Mr. Ghersi听maintains that the campaign is not aimed at leaving Peru鈥檚 constitution untouched 鈥� for example he supports reforming the unicameral Congress to include a Senate.
But he says he first remains focused on the bigger goal of stopping Peru鈥檚 slide into authoritarian rule.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 speak for everyone supporting this campaign,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut what motivates me personally is the desire not to lose the dream and the promise that is Peru.鈥�
