Alberto Fujimori: What does Fuerza Popular say regarding its statements about Dina Boluarte and Vladimiro Montesinos? | POLICY

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In dialogue with El Comercio, Miguel Torres, spokesperson for the orange party, denied that there is an alliance with the government, following the expressions of its historical leader.

“[La postura de Fuerza Popular] It is complete and absolute opposition [al gobierno]”I understand that what the former president has specified is that we are respectful of the constitutional succession,” he said.

Sources close to the leadership of Fuerza Popular indicated that within the group there has been discomfort due to the expressions of the former head of state, especially due to the lack of clarity he has had regarding Montesinos.

“At Fuerza Popular we do not believe that they are errors [los cometidos por el ‘Doc’]In the case of Montesinos they are crimes, he betrayed the trust of Alberto Fujimori [durante la década de 1990]”, they added.

Other sources from the Fujimori party indicated that the opinion of the former president – sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for the massacres of La Cantuta and Barrios Altos – has been in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the group.

“This situation was not an arranged interview, he has been in Sunat (National Superintendence of Customs and Tax Administration) doing some management, outside they have taken spontaneous statements from him, it is nothing planned. Regarding opinions, they are not part of a plan […] They are not coordinated or established, it is a personal position,” they stressed.

The same sources reported that Keiko Fujimori, current leader of Fuerza Popular, would not comment, for the moment, on her father’s statements.

The Executive Branch has not yet commented on the matter. We tried to communicate with the general secretary of Fuerza Popular, Luis Galarreta, and congressmen from said group, but they did not respond at the time of going to press.

Fujimori gave the statements outside an office of the National Superintendency of Customs and Tax Administration (Sunat) in San Isidro, where he had gone to update his RUC, as detailed to this newspaper by his lawyer Elio Riera.

When asked about his opinion regarding a possible early election, Fujimori responded: “It is not justified, the government of President Dina Boluarte will continue until 2026, at least Fuerza Popular and Fujimori have agreed to this.”

At another time, he said that his pardon is “justified” after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDH-Court) questioned the ruling of the Constitutional Court and in the context of the response that the Peruvian State will give in March before the supranational organization for this issue.

He also pointed out that Fujimorism would be present in the 2026 elections and, between smiles, he avoided answering whether his daughter Keiko would be the Fuerza Popular candidate. “It is still premature to make decisions, but we will do so in due course. Fujimorism will still be present […] What is going to be done is that Fujimorism is always present because there is an audience, well,” he added.

The former president also highlighted the work of Vladimiro Montesinos at the head of the SIN, an institution that was deactivated in 2001, and did not comment on the acts of corruption committed by his former right-hand man. “Well, each person makes his mistakes but he also fulfilled his function. He has worked in intelligence and in intelligence he did it well […] In the end, he got a little dizzy. She made him dizzy with money,” she added.

It is important to mention that since June 25, 2001, ‘Doc’ has been serving a 25-year sentence for the Barrios Altos Case. This sentence will expire on June 24, 2026.

Former presidential advisor Vladimiro Montesinos and President Alberto Fujimori.

/ INTERNET

Recently, Montesinos was sentenced to 19 years and 8 months in prison for the massacres of Pativilca and La Cantuta. Previously, in 2023, he was sentenced for the murder of Mariella Barreto. In 2021, he was convicted of the kidnapping of journalist Gustavo Gorriti and other victims in 1992.

He has also been convicted for the illegal sale of weapons to the FARC (20 years in prison), and the case known as ‘diarios chicha’ (eight years in prison).

Given

• The representative of Peru before the Organization of American States (OAS), Gustavo Adrianzén, reported that next March the Peruvian State will respond to the Inter-American Court on the pardon granted to former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000).
• In statements to RPP, he indicated that he trusts that the response is “strong enough” for the court to understand the reasons of the Constitutional Court (TC) in granting grace in favor of the former president.
• However, Adrianzén stressed that it could also happen that the Inter-American Court calls the Peruvian State to a public hearing, in order for it to present its arguments and defend its position.
• Likewise, he emphasized that the Inter-American Court cannot oppose the pardon, because although the procedure followed and some deficiencies that it may have are questioned, it is a presidential power that the inter-American system itself recognizes.

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Opinions

In dialogue with El Comercio, political scientists Paula Távara and Kathy Zegarra pointed out that Fujimori’s statements evidence the survival pact between the Boluarte government with Fuerza Popular and other political groups.

Távara said that, with the former president’s statements, “a coexistence agreement is emerging” between Fujimorism, the Government and other actors.

“A pact of coexistence is becoming clear, which involved the release of Alberto Fujimori from prison in exchange for a long period of Dina Boluarte remaining in the government. We cannot leave aside one factor, last week, the Permanent Commission of Congress finished voting for the archiving of the processes against Dina Boluarte,” he said.

The specialist recalled that the days before Castillo’s coup and Boluarte’s takeover, the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations approved the filing of constitutional complaints against the current president. “We found a sample of that coexistence agreement,” she stressed.

In Távara’s opinion, although Fuerza Popular points out that Fujimori’s statements are made in a personal capacity, “it is inevitable” not to take into account the leadership that he has over the party’s militancy and leaders.

“What Alberto Fujimori says has a lot of relevance within his party and therefore has relevance in decisions. Without having a position, he does not allow himself to be the historical leader of the organization and the father of its president.

Paula Távara, political scientist

For Távara, with his statements about Montesinos, Fujimori gives the image of someone who knows that he is “in a moment of being an untouchable person, but it is not true because he has open processes.”

“However, he knows that it is unlikely that any statement would lead him to assume a burden of responsibility.” […] Act and speak with the freedom of someone who does not have to take responsibility for what they say or do,” he added.

Finally, he opined that given such a worn image of the Executive, it would not be advisable for them to issue any statement.

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Zegarra expressed a similar position. “It was quite clear that Dina Boluarte, not having a presence in Congress, does not have an official party that supports her and needed to reach an agreement with other parties that have representation in Parliament such as Fuerza Popular, which is a disciplined bench.”

The political scientist indicated that Boluarte’s permanence until 2026 guarantees the survival of Congress. “What is sought is to maintain that stability that, despite being fragile, is what is best for political actors,” she added.

“Although Alberto Fujimori is the historical figure of Fuerza Popular, Keiko is the leader. Although he is not the head, it must be taken into account that he represents some party members and sympathizers. His statements are unfortunate because he reveals something that is tacitly done,” he noted.

Regarding the former president’s statements about Vladimiro Montesinos, Zegarra said that they show “the close relationship they had” and weaken the narrative that he was unaware of the actions of his former advisor.

“The expressions regarding Montesinos are worrying because it is clear that he is a person who has been strongly linked to acts of corruption and human rights violations and other crimes”

Kathy Zegarra, political scientist.