'This is not popular' admits Vice President Araoz in Peru political standoff with Vizcarra

Record ID: 1434560

  • Title: 'This is not popular' admits Vice President Araoz in Peru political standoff with Vizcarra
  • Date: 1st October 2019
  • Summary: LIMA, PERU (OCTOBER 01, 2019) (REUTERS) REUTERS INTERVIEW WITH VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "We need to defend our institutions. I know that it is not popular. I am taking on something that is very hard for me, perhaps people will call me many things. But, I am not acting on the basis of popularity. I want to truthfully call on society to understand that this is for our own good. We have to have strong and solid institutions and a rule of law. We have clearly had a terrible Congress but that is no reason to shut it down." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "This is a political move, a move to take on powers. At this time these duties have been taken on by (Vizcarra). It's a political act, yes, it's a political act." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "Who would want to take on this post under such conditions of crisis, of polarisation. I am a serious politician and I am here to work for my country. I am not doing this for my own well-being or because I'll get a political return today or tomorrow. If anything I am more hated today by a good part of the country." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "Certainly, we have not had an ideal Congress, it has been a very difficult Congress to work with. But, I go back to my previous point, Congress and the Executive are obliged to seek a consensus." ARAOZ DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "And now the Congress will go it alone. What happened to the promise that we're all in this, with political reforms, with judicial reforms. Are we going to stray from the path? Judicial reform has not yet been concluded, political reform has not yet been concluded, and I believe that to have a good election we have to finish off with two reforms." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "We have had informal talks with some (international) organisations, but only informal (talks). One of them is with the OAS (Organisation of American States) on the most appropriate path ahead. I think it’s (OAS) statement gives us a very good sign that Peru has to follow a constitutional path." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "The backing from the OAS is to find a solution amongst the differences in opinions. We are not so bad, those of us that have a broader perspective and that is also supported by many jurists, that the President's decision to dissolve Congress was bad. There are others who think differently so it is the Constitutional Court who should decide. I think whatever the decision will be a good result, we will have to respect what the Constitutional Court says." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "As the dispute has not yet been resolved, I have to continue my role as Vice President of the Republic, to fulfil the task that I have in accordance with the law. I will keep finding room for dialogue, to find solutions within a constitutional framework and explaining to society that violence is not the best route to take." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU VICE PRESIDENT MERCEDES ARAOZ, SAYING: "I truly would not have wanted to be in this position. I really believe we should be giving signs of certainty to our people, to international investors. I believe that our residents need to have certainty in the path we are going to take. My role is to still be the Vice President as ordered by the congress of the presidency. And in this regards what I want to do is my job, to again build consensus." ARAOZ DURING INTERVIEW
  • Embargoed: 16th October 2019 00:07
  • Keywords: interview Vice President Mercedes Araoz interim president President Martin Vizcarra Congress
  • Location: LIMA, PERU
  • City: LIMA, PERU
  • Country: Peru
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AZ9PVEV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Peru's Vice President Mercedes Araoz admitted to Reuters in an exclusive interview on Tuesday (October 01) that a decision by opposition lawmakers to declare her interim president would "not be popular".
    On Monday (September 30), President Martin Vizcarra dissolved the country's legislative body, amidst Vizcarra's year-long power struggle with the opposition, which he accuses of obstructing his proposed anti-graft reforms.
    Vizcarra has not commented publicly on the crisis since invoking a rarely-used presidential power late on Monday (September 30) to dismiss lawmakers, a nuclear option written into Peru's constitution that also forced him to replace his entire Cabinet.
    But Araoz told Reuters that the move to appoint her interim president was made to defend the country's democratic institutions.
    The opposition says Vizcarra has used the public's outrage over the scandals to override Congress' authority. And Araoz has called for talks with Vizcarra on a path forward to resolving the country's political crisis.
    A majority of Peruvians polled before Vizcarra dissolved Congress said they backed new legislative elections, and thousands of his supporters took to the streets late on Monday to pressure rebel lawmakers to leave.
    It was a stunning turn for Peru's relatively young democracy, which just two decades ago saw the country's authoritarian former president Alberto Fujimori resign as a mounting graft scandal paralysed his rightwing government.
    Vizcarra has blamed the opposition party led by Fujimori's daughter - jailed former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori - of deploying anti-democratic tactics, from the promotion of fake news to excessive legalism, in order to shield a corrupt network of politicians from fast-moving criminal probes.
    The current crisis caps three years of scandal, intrigue and back-stabbing among Peru's political elites after Brazilian builder Odebrecht announced it would help authorities prosecute Peruvian politicians the company bribed for over a decade.
    (Production: Carlos Valdez)
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