This statement was originally published in Spanish by our Peruvian partner, CEAS. It has been reproduced here with their permission.
Introduction by Mary Durran, Program Officer in Peru
In the 20th month of the presidency of Dina Boluarte, our partner, the Episcopal Commission for Social Action (CEAS), has called on Peru’s economic elite to give up their selfish attitudes and work for the common good.
“We can no longer call Peru a democratic nation where the dignity of the people is respected,” CEAS said in a July 8 statement. Interference by the Congress is the country’s legal system and approval of laws that favour impunity for military and police responsible for serious past human rights violations are cited, as are policies that allow the proliferation of illegal trades and the gradual deforestation of the Amazon region, an essential regulator of world climate.
Residents of this region have fared no better with the current government that replaced that of Pedro Castillo, who was impeached by the Congress in December 2022. CEAS decries how the Amazon Indigenous inhabitants are considered an “obstacle” to development and highlights the government’s lack of interest in resolving the social issues that affect them, evident in its recent dismissal of a series of rapes of girls of the Awajún nation as “cultural practices.”
Nonetheless, there are signs of hope, including the recent decision by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that found the state of Peru responsible for the health of the population of La Oroya that is affected by toxic gases emitted by a US-owned polymetallic smelter, the expressions of concern from the UN Human Rights Council regarding steps taken by the Congress to erode democracy and the message of support from Pope Francis for rural communities whose territories are threatened by extractive and illegal economies: “Defend the land, don’t let it be stolen.”
Our partners’ statement is reproduced below. To read the original in Spanish, click here.
”Authority is a service, and authority that is not service is dictatorship.”[i] ― Pope Francis
At the beginning of this patriotic month[ii], we, the Episcopal Commission for Social Action (CEAS for its Spanish acronym) and the National Social Pastoral teams―joining the July 26 communiqué of the Permanent Council of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference [see in Spanish], assuming our prophetic duty of proclamation and denunciation, and as Christians with a responsibility reality―welcome the cry of the people shared at the last meeting of the National Social Pastoral: “We can no longer call Peru a democratic country where the dignity of the people is respected.”
We are outraged by the deep shadows cast over our beloved country by the vested interests of groups and individuals who, in pursuit of their own interests, destroy democracy and institutions; violate human rights, human dignity and the dignity of our nation; and disregard the rule of law, as evinced by various actions:
The entrenchment of what our bishops have called a culture of lawlessness, which is evident in the capture of some of the country’s autonomous constitutional bodies; attempts to control the National Board of Justice and, thereby, the justice administration and electoral bodies systems; the law banning the political participation of regional movements; and the elimination of primary elections, parity and alternation on electoral lists. These will maintain the same entrenched interests in all branches of government along with their high levels of corruption and even links with organized crime.
This culture is also evident in laws passed by Congress that favour amnesty for military and police officers who have committed crimes against humanity and illegal pardons for those convicted for such crimes; that favour organized crime; that facilitate and formalize illegal economies; that, in favour of economic interests, allow the deforestation of our Amazon, which will worsen climate change, social conflicts, the assassinations of defenders of the territories and our common home and the erasure of Indigenous peoples, who are sees as an obstacle to so-called “development.”
Similarly, the push to amend the APCI law[iii] governing the supervision and control of international cooperation seeks to contain, muzzle and prevent opinions, denunciations and actions critical of the state powers that have been co-opted by corruption.
The great disinterest of the authorities and the political class in addressing the country’s major problems is evident in the education and women’s ministers’ statements describing the rape of young Awajún girls as a “cultural practice.”
Furthermore, the incongruity between the 29 per cent increase in poverty in Peru and the announcement of 5 per cent economic growth by the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics testifies to the enormous social gap that continues to widen. All this is crowned by the recently announced suspension Peru’s process the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) because of the Congress’s approval of the amendment of the law on effective collaboration, which the current government concealed.
Amid these shadows, some lights emerge that give us hope that it is still possible, from our particular space, to do something to bring about change in a reality as complex as the one we live in Peru. Thus we have:
- The dismissal of the public prosecutor in charge of the National Board of Justice
- The appeal of the office of the public prosecutor to the public to defend democracy
- The conviction after 30 years of military personnel for sexually assaulting victims in the Manta and Vilca cases, who were legally represented by human rights organizations
- Members of the public prosecutor’s office and the judiciary acting independently of political power when handing down decisions
- The ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that provided justice to those affected by toxic metal emission the La Oroya metallurgical complex and recognized the state’s responsibility
- A great light for the defence of the territories of peasant and Indigenous communities at risk from various legal and illegal economic interests, which is the encouragement that Pope Francis provided to the Catacaos community in Piura with the words, “I know what’s happening to you. Defend the land, don’t let it be stolen.”
- The criminal complaint against the ministers of education and women for describing the rape of young Awajún girls as a cultural practice and the statement in this regard of Mgr. Alfredo Vizcarra, Bishop of Jaén [see video in Spanish]
- The presentation of the bill on due diligence requiring companies to respect international human rights and environmental standards in their operations
- Statements by international bodies such as the one by the embassies of 16 countries that cooperate with Peru [including Canada; see in Spanish], which questioned the state on amendments to the APCI law on the supervision and control of international cooperation, and that of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [see summary] who expressed concern about regulations adopted by Congress that imply a step backward for democracy in the country.
CEAS and the National Social Pastoral teams consider it fundamental that actors with vested interests renounce their individualistic attitudes and act justly in pursuit of the common good, so as to, “not rob the new generations of their hope in a better future,” as Pope Francis says. In this sense, the sociopolitical training of young people to promote a new political generation is a challenge that we consider fundamental to take on as a Church.
Lima, July 8, 2024
NATIONAL SOCIAL PASTORAL
[i] Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Pope Francis (Jne 29, 2024)
[ii] Leading up to the 28th, when Peru celebrates is independence from Spain in 1821, the month of July is marked as a patriotic month with flags being hoisted on all public buildings.
[iii] Proposed amendments to Law No. 27692, which governs the Agencia Peruana de Cooperation International (APCI, the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation) are widely seen as authoritarian in civil society circles.
