MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peru's Congress chooses new 2nd Vice President

Peru's Congress remains unable to move forward the elections and demonstrators keep dying

Peru's one-house Congress Friday chose Rep. Silvia Monteza Facho of the Cajamarca constituency to replace Digna Calle as Second Vice President, following the latter's decision to leave her post after numerous failures on the part of Parliament to agree on a date to which to move the general elections forward, which is one of the demands of the protests since the Dec. 7 impeachment of Pedro Castillo Terrones. Monteza, of Acción Popular, is to take over from Calle, of Podemos Peru.

Monteza was elected by 67 votes against 27 endorsements to Alfredo Azurín of the center-left Somos Perú party, who had the most support in the first round.

In the second round of voting, many lawmakers cast their votes with notes calling for President Dina Boluarte's resignation and calls for a “Constituent Assembly.”

Meanwhile, Congress Speaker José Williams also announced Friday that he was extending the current legislature from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17 in order to “address and debate the issues of national interest included in the agenda,” with no mention of possibly moving forward the elections.

“I resign in the hope that the board of directors will be recomposed and a truly democratic and representative formula will be constituted. From the democratic center we believe that a new board could be the door for President Dina Boluarte to resign and call general elections for 2023,” said Calle in a video posted on her social networks.

The congresswoman, from the conservative party Podemos Perú, affirmed that the country “cannot stand anymore,” and that neither the president nor the parliamentarians were willing “to take responsibility for the crisis.”

Meanwhile, President Boluarte confirmed Friday a new death, which brought the total number of victims of violence since Dec. 7 to 70. It was a demonstrator who had participated in protests in the southern region of Apurimac on Thursday. Denilson Huaraca Vílchez, 22, died in clashes with the national police in the Siete Vueltas sector of the Apurimac province of Aymaraes.

“I am very sorry for the death, and my condolences from here to the family,” Boluarte said during a press conference.