Peru's never-ending quest for the perfect Constitution
Congress is debating a major constitutional overhaul, its third in 23 years.
By Carlos Lozada | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
LIMA, PERU - Facing stubbornly high unemployment, a backlash against free-market
reforms, and an embarrassing string of corruption
scandals, the Peruvian government is opting for a drastic yet familiar
fix: reforming the country's Constitution.
Two weeks ago, Congress began formal deliberations on Peru's third major
constitutional overhaul since 1979. The result could be the 13th
different Constitution in the Andean nation's 181-year history, on average
one every 14 years. The head of the constitutional commission,
Rep. Henry Pease, said that change is needed "in order to give the country
a text that will help us move forward."
Finding that perfect text is an ongoing quest in Latin America. While the
United States has had virtually the same governing blueprint for
over 225 years, its neighbors to the south often throw out the existing
document with the departing government. While this practice may
strengthen individual political leaders in the short term, observers say,
over time it tends to undermine the public's faith in democracy.
"Constitutions in Latin America tend to be identified with the government
– or the individual – in power at a particular point in time," says
Kurt Weyland, associate professor of government at the University of Texas
in Austin and an expert in Latin American politics. "As soon as
a regime falls, the next government insists on constitutional change. This
sends a signal that institutions and rules are subject to political
manipulation, and that is bad news for democracy."
Peru's recent history of constitutional reform reflects the country's complicated
relationship with democracy. In 1979, following 12 years of
military rule, a new Constitution was fashioned for Peru's return to democratic
governance. It established a "social democratic state" and
emphasized a significant role for the government in the economy. That document,
however, was replaced in 1993, when President Alberto
Fujimori pushed through a more market-oriented Constitution. More significantly,
it allowed Mr. Fujimori to run for a second consecutive
term, which has traditionally been prohibited.
Following revelations of systemic corruption in his government, Fujimori
fled Peru in 2000. As a result, the Constitution of 1993 became
discredited in the eyes of many Peruvians.
In May 2001, interim President Valentín Paniagua formed a blue-ribbon
panel to make recommendations on constitutional change. Now,
says José Luis Sardón, law professor at the Peruvian University
of Applied Sciences in Lima and author of a constitutional history of Peru,
the reformers in Congress are focused on "annihilating all vestiges of
the Fujimori regime, including the Constitution."
Some of the issues in the current debate include expanding labor rights,
strengthening public education, introducing midterm congressional
elections, and prohibiting consecutive presidential terms.
To most people involved with the reform, however, the specific changes
being considered are less important than breaking with the past. "A
democratic country," says Luis Guerrero, a member of the constitutional
commission, "cannot be guided by a Constitution that has as its
father a dictatorial and corrupt government."
Peru is not the only country in the region contemplating constitutional
changes. Bolivia is debating reforms that would grant indigenous
groups and civil society fuller political participation. Last month, President
Hugo Chávez of Venezuela broached the possibility of yet
another constitutional makeover, less than four years after major legal
reforms that he himself initiated. And in Chile, 4 of 5 citizens favor
a
plebiscite aimed at changing the 1980 Constitution, adopted during the
dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
Critics charge that such changes are often more style than substance. "It
is much easier to give grand speeches about constitutional
reform," says Mr. Weyland, "than it is to address the real social and economic
challenges the region faces."
Coming to consensus on the language for Peru's new Constitution may not
be easy. The 120-member Congress includes representatives
from 11 different political groups. Congress needs a two-thirds majority
to approve constitutional reform on its own or else the initiative
would face a national referendum.
Mr. Sardón worries that another round of constitutional reengineering
in Peru will produce "terrible erosion" in the very concept of a
Constitution, but he agrees that some sort of large-scale reforms may be
necessary.
"In Peru and in all of Latin America," he says, "we are discovering that
economic crises are not just about economic policies, but also
about our laws and the way we organize the state."