Foreign Affairs committee  Gracias.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you.

Foreign Affairs committee  Regarding international organizations, as I mentioned, and the current crisis that we're facing, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights visited Peru twice. There's going to be a report, and there's going to be a recommendation that is going to be taken into account by the government.

Foreign Affairs committee  There is a discussion within Congress to do a reform of the constitution. One of the areas they are thinking about reforming is the political one. It has to do with the situation that you exposed, because there is this possibility to vacate the position of president, but at the same time there is a possibility for the executive to close Congress.

Foreign Affairs committee  I do not....

Foreign Affairs committee  I know nothing about that.

Foreign Affairs committee  I have to recognize that's a tough question to answer. What I can tell you is that the Congress right now is discussing this matter. They have the opportunity of tackling the issue and resolving this. What I'll tell you is that for the government, in the political area, the main objective is to uphold an early general election.

Foreign Affairs committee  First, I would like to underscore something. What you say is true. We've had five presidents in six years, but the important thing here is that democracy works in my country, because this recurring crisis was resolved through the constitutional order. That's something that is very important to take into account.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Minister of Foreign Affairs for Peru, Ana Cecilia Gervasi, stated at the 7th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of CELAC—the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States—that: It is regrettable, therefore, that some governments, of particularly close countries, have not accompanied Peru in this difficult institutional situation and, rather, have prioritised ideological affinity over unequivocal support for the rule of law and constitutional succession, seeking to establish a distorted narrative that does not correspond to the facts.

Foreign Affairs committee  What I can tell you is if you see Peruvian TV and you hear Peruvian radio—not just in Lima but in the regions—you will be able to tell that there is full freedom of speech and opinion. If you see what happened in the last days, there was coverage but the whole press.... What I'm telling you is that the government is not vocal just in promoting and protecting human rights, but also in protecting the freedoms of speech and opinion and the liberty of the press.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. There is no definition. It says that you can be vacated because of “moral incapacity”. It explicitly says it that way in the constitution.

Foreign Affairs committee  Former president Castillo attempted a coup d’état. That situation fuelled an immediate reaction from all of the democratic institutions, including the Congress. They immediately considered that it was right to vacate former president Castillo because of the attempted coup d'état and they used that article.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes. Thank you. As I was saying, the priority of the government right now is to establish dialogue with all the parties. Second, it's to attend to the urgent social and economic demands. Those are the most important priorities for the government. The current situation, which we've been facing for more than a month, is affecting my country economically.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Yes, within our Congress, you can count more than eight political parties, so the voting is dispersed—if we can say that. Regarding the election of former president Castillo.... In our constitution, to get elected as president, you have to get, in the first round, 50% plus one vote of the legally admitted votes, which is a special formula we have in our country.

Foreign Affairs committee  If I may, let me go back, as this is something that, in some way, addresses your question. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs recently made statements to local media. She was clearly stating that the ongoing investigation into what happened in Peru will uncover the source of the funds of those financing the violent groups.