In a country that has eleven heads of state in the last twenty-four years, it is unlikely that those who cross the presidential line will enjoy popularity in the polls. Dina Boluarte, Peru’s first president, is by no means an exception, but rather the lowest point of a bruised investiture, lacking credibility. Last Saturday, the lawyer celebrated 500 days in power since she replaced Pedro Castillo by presidential succession in December 2022 and the most recent survey does not seem to be the best gift: according to Datum Internacional, only 7% of Peruvians approve of her management . Not only is it the lowest figure for Boluarte, who against all odds had remained at 10%, but it represents the deepest fall for a leader in Peru in two decades.
Since the economist Alejandro Toledo, in June 2004, no president has been so unpopular. Of course, at the time Toledo led the fight against the dictatorship of the nineties and, in the process, embodied the demand of the Andean world. Aspects that he capitalized on and that were reflected in an approval rating close to 60% that later collapsed due to unfulfilled promises and corruption scandals. Boluarte, meanwhile, never represented hope for change. He arrived at the Palace suddenly, without elections involved, after Castillo’s failed self-coup. It was thought that it would be a transitional government, but due to Boluarte’s resistance to calling early elections, a social crisis was unleashed that lasted for several months. Polls indicate that his administration at most scraped 20% support in the first quarter of 2023 and then went into free fall.
For just over a month, President Boluarte has been questioned about a collection of high-end watches and jewelry about which she has given different versions. Her lack of clarity has only increased suspicions of alleged illicit enrichment for which she is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office. Not even with three messages to the nation dedicated to the matter, the woman from Apurim has been able to shake off the mess. Political analyst Gianfranco Vigo establishes a comparison between Boluarte and Toledo regarding the 7% approval rating they share.
“Both exhibit a major credibility problem. On more than one occasion, former President Toledo was described as a mythomaniac for not recognizing his daughter (the political scientist Zaraí Toledo), denying his nephews (linked to acts of corruption) and inventing bizarre stories (he once reported having been kidnapped and drugged to live an orgy). President Boluarte is also appearing in the public eye as a liar since the responses she has given to the Rolex scandal are implausible,” says Vigo. From his perspective, the second aspect that has eroded his mandate has been his poor capacity to promote efficient public policies. “The population sees that this Government is incompetent and that it is on autopilot,” he adds.
What then sustains a management with such precarious approval rates? Boluarte has already exceeded the 497 days that Castillo remained in the Palace. And according to an analysis by the newspaper El Comercio, the lawyer has not done much better than the union teacher. Boluarte has promoted 45 relevant bills compared to Castillo’s 91 and to date has 52 ministers, a disproportionate number for any government that pursues stability.
Congress, however, has not behaved in the same way with both. Four ministers were censored from Castillo and one from Boluarte. It was the same Chamber that rejected the initiative to advance elections on three occasions and that in turn revoked a few weeks ago two vacancy motions against Boluarte due to his property imbalance.
Political scientist Paula Távara sheds light on this shield: “Boluarte is the face of an authoritarian coalition made up of political parties of various political tendencies (and their parliamentary groups) and groups of economic power (who collaborate with their silence) interested in getting all the possible benefit of the Executive and that all possible changes are made to the legislation that will allow them to guarantee electoral victory in the future. It is not, therefore, about interest in supporting the Government as such, but rather about taking advantage of the opportunity to co-opt the State. The only support that Boluarte is interested in is that of the political groups that support her and guarantee her impunity, not that of the citizens,” she explains.
It can be inferred then that it is a pact between the Executive and the Legislative to survive until 2026. Despite not having a bench, the president has the endorsement of the political groups with the most representatives in Parliament such as Fuerza Popular and Popular Renewal. It was precisely these groups that published messages rejecting the raid on Boluarte’s house on the night of Good Friday.
This week, the Boluarte Government, by the way, held a press conference to report on its response to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding the release of former President Alberto Fujimori last December. The Minister of Justice, Eduardo Arana, maintained that they “adhered to the principles of legality and justice” by respecting the decision of the Constitutional Court despite contravening the Inter-American Court. “From the Government we promote reciprocal respect between the sovereignty and the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, urging respectful consideration of the internal and sovereign judicial decisions of the Peruvian State,” Arana invoked. Fuerza Popular is the party led by Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of the patriarch Fujimori.
In one of her most recent public events, in a hospital in Lima, Dina Boluarte received one of her loudest boos. Her response was not very conciliatory. “Those cries against the country are not going to stop us. Here there is no room for hate, here there is no room for mediocrity,” she snapped. In the coming months, will Boluarte be able to rebound 7% or will she continue in free fall? After the departure of her Prime Minister, Alberto Otárola, her main lightning rod, she does not have a high-caliber political doll, much less someone who can build bridges. Meanwhile, the organization of the relatives of those murdered and victims of the massacres of the first months of her regime have announced a national mobilization for May 1 in Lima. New tensions loom.
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