“They just say that they did something”: congressmen introduced hundreds of bills on the declarative distribution of districts

During the first term of office Congress of the Republic 524 appeared Declaration bills. The list of groups that most often came up with such initiatives is headed by Perú Libre, Acción Popular and Bloque Magisterial.

The creation of districts, sanitary works, the construction of roads and bridges in various regions of the country were part of the agenda of many parliamentarians through declarative laws. However, experts agree that without purchasing power and without the competence necessary to implement these proposals, false expectations are formed among the population.

“The ideal in the law is that the conclusion is logically-legally followed by a consequence. Declarative norms are the opposite: they are assumptions without consequences. Usually they only serve to let parliamentarians say that they have done something for their constituents,” Alejandro Rospigliosi, a lawyer specializing in parliamentary affairs, said in an interview with the publication. PTR.

One of the congressmen who tops this list is Jorge Flores Ankaki of Acción Popular, who has 38 declarative projects presented at the first legislative assembly. Of these, 5, which sought to declare the creation of areas of national interest in the Puno region, have already been accepted.

He is followed by his bench colleagues Luis Aragon and Wilson Soto, who have accumulated 13 and 8 declaration bills respectively. In the case of Aragon, 6 initiatives have already been implemented to create districts in Cusco. Similarly, Wilson Soto was able to publicize 4 initiatives that propose that works such as paving various highways in Huancavelica be declared of national interest.

For her part, Katie Ugarte, Congresswoman for the Arbitration Block, has amassed 15 declaratory bills that she introduced in her first year in office. Of these, 3 stand out, which propose to declare the creation of the districts of Urinsay, Occabamba and Vilcanota in the Cusco region of national interest.

For a parliamentarian, declarative laws are part of the process of realizing the desires of the population.

“In our week of representation, we collect the needs, aspirations of the population and, therefore, present these initiatives. We believe that they are a step to be able to make your wishes come true. We don’t lie. We even brought representatives of localities to PKM workers so that they could explain the stages of creating a district, which is not easy, because it is necessary to fulfill the requirements,” he said.

Nonetheless declarative law it is not a condition for the creation of a district.

“The constitution establishes that the parliament does not have spending capacity, and it is not necessary to carry out sanitary works or the creation of a district by creating a declarative law,” Rospigliosi said.

Meanwhile, Peru Libre congressmen Guido Bellido and Paul Gutiérrez Ticona presented 10 and 9 declarative drafts respectively. Of these, Gutierrez is collecting 8 initiatives that announce the creation of areas of national interest in Apurimac, and 3 of them have already been adopted.

general duties

Milagros Campos, lawyer and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, explained that prior to the adoption declarative law to create districts, there must be some coordination between parliamentarians and the executive branch, because not because this is a demand of the population, but it means that it meets the requirements of territorial fragmentation.

“To the extent that this is within the purview of the executive branch, prior coordination should be carried out for the introduction of the law, since this is not within the purview of the executive branch. Congress create districts,” he said.

In practice, however, parliamentarians first introduce the bill in front of demanding citizens, who then face the demands and bureaucratic hurdles set by the executive to create the district. This was stated by Alejandro Rospigliosi, referring to the fact that parliamentarians can use their oversight powers to get more tangible results in relation to declarative norms.

“Parliament should make better use of its oversight function. There are mechanisms for ministerial interrogation and even censorship, for ministers who live outside of reality and thus ensure that they can actually address issues of unsanitary or territorial demarcation immediately.

Although the rules can be approved at the insistence, Milagros Campos reminded that the executive branch has precedent to stop these initiatives.

“The issue that the executive branch saw most frequently during 2020 was about autographs that created districts or declared their creation as a national interest and public necessity. After approval, at the urging, the executive branch turned to the Constitutional Court through claims of unconstitutionality, declaring itself justified,” he said.

From Congressthe pews, which have the most legislative production of a declarative nature, opposed last November a draft that sought declarative norms to be motions.

Meanwhile, without coordination or the ability to carry out public spending, many approved initiatives are doomed to failure along with the expectations of citizens.