Last Tuesday, the former chairman of the Council of Ministers Alberto Atarolaappeared before the Congressional Oversight and Comptroller Committee, where he noted that President Dina Bolhuarte underwent nose surgery between late June and early July 2023.
“As you know, the president underwent an operation these days. However, she never neglected her duties as president, and I know this because I was the chairman of the Council of Ministers at the time,” Atarola said.
This statement sparked a heated debate about whether the president had committed a crime. In response, the Prosecutor General’s Office opened a preliminary investigation against him for crimes of resignation and omission due to the fact that he did not inform the Council of Ministers and Congress about the surgical intervention.
Criminal defense attorney Luis Llamas Puccio discussed in an interview RPP that there are “minimum conditions” to talk about possible criminal liability in this case. In addition, he warned that the disruption of the presidential elections was a violation of the constitution.
Lamas Puccio argued that from a “legal and factual” point of view, there would be sufficient reason to offer the presidential vacancy, as, in his view, public opinion would be deceived.
“What really determines the course of the analysis of events are two facts. Firstly, it was a frivolous intervention without any grounds, and secondly, that the information was hidden in order to misinform and by all possible means try to make the absence of the president not known or have the necessary significance,” he emphasized.
“Anything Could Happen”
In turn, the lawyer Andy Carrion noted that as part of the preliminary investigation, he will not look into whether the intervention was aesthetic or not, but into the reason why the president did not inform the Council of Ministers or Congress about it. surgical procedure.
In addition, he noted that the investigation must determine who held the office of president between June 29 and July 9, the period in which Boluarte was allegedly incapacitated due to surgery.
In turn, constitutional lawyer Heber Joel Campos said that although the Constitution clearly indicates that a power vacuum should not be created, what happened does not necessarily justify a presidential vacancy. At the same time, he clarified that this decision corresponds to the parliament and will ultimately be a political issue.
Finally, constitutional lawyer Luciano López, when asked about the possibility that this would lead to a presidential vacancy, said that given the weakness of resources, “anything could happen.” According to his opinion, it will depend on the will of congressmen.