Published:

Mar 23, 2023 01:39 GMT

Former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, and two former cabinet officials, are charged with the alleged crimes of rebellion and conspiracy.

The plenary session of the Congress of the Republic of Peru approved this Wednesday the constitutional complaint against the former president of the Council of Ministers, Betssy Chávez, and the former ministers of the Interior, Willy Huerta, and of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roberto Sánchez, for the alleged crimes of rebellion and conspiracy.

The accusation against Chávez was supported with 66 votes in favor, 11 against, and 6 abstentions. Likewise, the plenary session approved suspending her from her constitutional functions as a congressman with 66 votes in favor, 15 against and 3 abstentions.

Meanwhile, with 57 votes in favor, 18 against and 10 abstentions, it was approved to constitutionally accuse former Minister Huerta.

Regarding Sánchez, Congress resolved to approve the criminal case against him with 50 votes in favor, 21 against and 13 abstentions. However, the former head of Foreign Trade and Tourism will continue to exercise his constitutional functions as a congressman while the investigations against him last. His suspension was rejected with 27 votes in favor, 39 against, and 18 abstentions.

Chávez, Huerta and Sánchez were appointed by Pedro Castillo and they are accused of the events that occurred on December 7, 2022, when the former president tried to dissolve Parliament.

Now the file with the constitutional accusation will be sent to the National Prosecutor’s Office, which is the entity in charge of formulating the respective criminal complaint before the Supreme Court of Justice within a period of five calendar days.

On March 14, the Permanent Commission of Congress authorized the report sent by the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations against the three former officials.

Reaction of those involved

In his defense before Congress, Chávez assured that “since day one” he has submitted to the investigation carried out by the Public Ministry, and has even “respected their arbitrariness” understanding that their decisions are “entirely political.” In addition, she denied the press accusations of wanting to escape the country and recalled that she herself had requested the exit ban.

The former president critical the lack of decentralization of national politics, which divides citizens into “first and second class Peruvians”, and advocated for a reconciliation of the country based on a “social pact” where the original peoples participate, and workers and unions can “sit down to talk and dialogue with the business associations, and they can argue”.

“Today, more than ever, we need to recover respect for the institutionality of this country. Recover the balance of the three powers of the State. It is arbitrary that Congress elects presidents of the republic over the will of the people (…) or that their decisions are above the executive and judicial powers,” he asserted.

Previously, the former Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism – who is also a congressman – declared to the press that he was not involved “in any illegal act in the exercise of my duties”, while ruling out the possibility of escaping.

“Every time there were these events, I was always the first to say that investigations must always be carried out and the illegal acts must be determined no matter who falls. One has to show their faces, you don’t have to elope and he has to demonstrate the clarity of his actions,” Sánchez said.