Peru’s congress has been unable to set a date for early elections, deepening the political paralysis in the world’s second-biggest copper producer as widespread anti-government protests enter their third month.
The assembly’s failure to pass legislation before its closure would make it unlikely that elections can be held this year, analysts said. Congress is in session until February 17 after it was extended late on Friday, and could agree to schedule elections this year, but a consensus seems distant. Lawmakers from ousted leftwing president Pedro Castillo’s Peru Libre party have refused to support any changes that do not open the door to drafting a new constitution.
The elections are due in 2026 but President Dina Boluarte has urged congress to bring them forward and Prime Minister Alberto Otárola said at the beginning of the month that polls were the only way to restore “the peace and calm that the country needs”.