Peru Senate Panel Halts Crime Powers Vote

The Congress building in Lima, seen from Plaza Bolívar. File photo, 2007. (Photo: Manuel González Olaechea (assumed), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

PERU · POLITICS

A Peru Senate panel stalled a key vote on Thursday 15 October on President Keiko Fujimori’s request for decree powers on crime. Its Constitution Committee suspended the session “until further notice” after senators from four opposition parties walked out.

The powers would let Fujimori’s government change laws on crime and El Niño by decree for 90 days, without new votes in Congress. For US firms, travellers and investors, the delay slows how fast Peru can tighten its rules on extortion and organised crime.

What Happened in the Senate Committee

The Peru Senate panel met on Thursday 15 October to debate a draft report on the powers request. Chair Carlos Mesía, of Fujimori’s conservative Fuerza Popular party, suspended it and set 5 p.m., state agency Andina reported.

Senator Patricia Iturregui of the opposition Buen Gobierno party questioned how far the Senate may change a lower house bill. Andina reported that the committee first approved her motion, then reversed itself, and the opposition senators left.

When the session resumed after 5 p.m., many seats stood empty because the four opposition caucuses stayed away, El Comercio reported. Mesía then told the room: “Se suspende la sesión hasta nuevo aviso,” which means the session is suspended until further notice.

Why Four Opposition Parties Walked Out

The four caucuses are Juntos por el Perú, a left-wing party, Ahora Nación, led by Alfonso López Chau, Buen Gobierno and Partido Cívico Obras. They said the chair’s draft was a “one-sided text” that adds topics the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, never approved, RPP reported.

They asked in writing that the committee debate the lower house text instead. Senator Roger Astucuri of Obras said it was wrong to impose a set of rules by “authoritarian force”, according to RPP.

The vote on her motion was disputed, because Fuerza Popular senator Alejandro Aguinaga took part online and reportedly had connection problems, El Búho reported. Counting his vote could have produced a tie that Mesía would then have broken with his casting vote, and the opposition objected.

What the Government and Its Allies Said

Mesía told senators that “the deadlines are about to expire and the country is asking for order and security,” RPP reported. The paper said the committee has seven working days to issue its report, a deadline that falls on Friday 16 October.

Lourdes Alcorta of the conservative Renovación Popular party, which stayed in the room, told the opposition to “show their faces”. Justice Minister Ernesto Álvarez accused the left-wing caucuses of obstructing the government, El Comercio reported.

What the Decree Powers Would Cover

The government originally asked for 66 measures and 120 days of decree powers. The Chamber of Deputies passed a trimmed version on Tuesday 6 October by 66 votes to 34, with 24 abstentions, Correo reported.

The deputies’ version keeps 20 measures for 90 days on crime and flood risk. That risk comes from El Niño, a warming of the Pacific Ocean that can bring heavy floods to Peru’s coast.

The chair’s draft adds seven new points to those 20 measures. The opposition says those seven points were never debated by the deputies.

Our earlier report Peru Senate Eyes Terror Tools Against Gangs describes the draft’s plan to label violent gangs “hostile groups”. Our report on the committee’s earlier hearing covers the lower house vote in detail.

The Congress building in Lima, where the Senate meets, seen across Plaza Bolívar. File photo, October 2020. (Photo: Herwarth Morales, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

What It Means for You

Investors in Peruvian copper and gold should expect crime rules to change more slowly if the Peru Senate panel stays deadlocked. Travellers face the same extortion and street-crime risks in Lima while the debate drags on.

The standoff also shows that President Fujimori still needs the Senate to approve her plans for tougher security rules. Until the committee meets again, no decree powers can take effect.

What Is Not Known

No date has been set for the Peru Senate panel to meet again. Mesía has not said what happens when the reporting deadline of Friday 16 October passes without a vote.

The final count of the disputed procedural vote has not been settled in public. It is also unclear when the full Senate will take up the bill.

More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the Peru Senate panel on 15 October?

The Peru Senate panel, the Constitution Committee, suspended its debate on President Fujimori’s decree-powers request “until further notice”. Senators from four opposition caucuses had walked out of the session.

What would the decree powers let Peru’s government do?

They would let the government change laws on crime and El Niño by decree for 90 days without new votes in Congress. The lower house kept 20 of the 66 measures the government first requested.

Why did the opposition senators leave the room?

They said the chair’s draft adds seven new points that the lower house never approved. They wanted the committee to debate the lower house text instead.

When will the Peru Senate panel meet again?

The Peru Senate panel has set no date. Its chair has said only that the session is suspended until further notice.

Why does the delay matter to US readers?

Peru is a US free-trade partner and a major copper and gold exporter. Slower crime rules affect the security outlook for foreign firms and travellers.

Sources: Andina, Comisión de Constitución suspende debate del pedido de facultades hasta nuevo aviso, 15 October 2026; El Comercio, Bancadas de izquierda y aliados frustran debate y votación de facultades, 16 October 2026; RPP, Delegación de facultades: bancadas de oposición se retiran de Comisión de Constitución del Senado, 15 October 2026; El Búho, Comisión de Constitución del Senado suspende sesión, 15 October 2026; El Comercio, Ministro Ernesto Álvarez acusa a las bancadas de izquierda de obstruir al Gobierno, 15 October 2026; Correo, Senado retoma hoy debate sobre facultades legislativas, 13 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief