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Peru's PM: We must defend rule of law, we must work together

Photo: Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Peru

Photo: Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Peru

14:30 | Lima, Oct. 12.

Prime Minister Anibal Torres on Wednesday called on citizens to defend the rule of law and asked Congress to work with the Executive Branch for the common good.

"I want to call on people of good faith, whether civil or State servants, and all State powers to defend democracy and the rule of law, to respect the popular will that elected Pedro Castillo (as President of the Republic) for five years," he expressed.

In this sense, the Cabinet chief indicated that the Executive and Legislative Branches need each other, adding that they must work together.

"The people have not chosen us to be in conflict, as that means being an enemy of Peru. We want Peru to move forward," Torres said at a press conference joined by State ministers.

The high-ranking official recalled that presidential impeachment attempts had repeatedly failed and that rumors about the 2021 general elections had never been proven as there was no electoral fraud.

"They (opponents) formed a commission on the alleged fraud, but it failed; they (its members) did not reach any conclusion. Who was going to agree with them if the fraud never existed? The elections were legitimate," Torres emphasized.

Regarding the constitutional complaint filed by Attorney General Patricia Benavides against the President, the Prime Minister argued that it is totally inadmissible because it does not conform to the terms of the Constitution's Article 117, which specifies the crimes for which judicial and political charges on a President can be filed.

Similarly, he lamented that the Attorney General's Office has reached the point of stating that "he, who believes himself innocent, must prove it."

"You cannot speak in those terms; innocence must not be proven, but guilt must. Innocence is presumed, you cannot catch any person and tell him/her 'prove that you are innocent,'" he asserted.

Regarding the remarks by virtual Lima Mayor, Rafael Lopez Aliaga, about not wanting to talk with Executive Branch officials, Torres said it is due to the lack of knowledge about how political power is exercised.

"We are not going to act in the same way. The Executive Branch, as soon as he expresses his needs, will assist him immediately; the President does not have the mentality of excluding anyone or of revenge, because that would affect the city of Lima. We are interested in Lima making progress in every way," he expressed.

(END) VVS/CVC/MVB

Published: 10/12/2022