Andean Region Briefing: Peru’s New President Faces Her First Interpellation
ANDEAN REGION · WEEKEND BRIEFING
Key Facts
- —Peru Deputies voted 66 to 51 to summon Interior Minister César Astudillo, who must answer 27 questions on 17 September.
- —Peru Forecasters put the chance of an extraordinary El Niño between September and January at 62%.
- —Ecuador A nighttime curfew was imposed across four coastal provinces, citing rising insecurity.
- —Ecuador Rights groups say 143 Ecuadorian fishermen have been affected by American strikes at sea.
- —Bolivia A committee approved extending the state of exception by 90 days. It is not law yet.
- —The catch Colombia’s stock index hit a record while its president lost a court fight over coca spraying.
Keiko Fujimori has been president for six weeks and her interior minister is already summoned to explain himself. Meanwhile a weather forecast is starting to look like the region’s biggest fiscal risk.
The Andean region spent the week worrying about two things it cannot arrest. One is organised crime and the other is the weather.
In Peru the new government’s interior minister was summoned to Congress over a crime wave. Across the Andean region the pattern repeats, and in Ecuador it produced a curfew.
Underneath both sits a forecast. Peruvian scientists now put the probability of an extraordinary El Niño at 62%.
Peru: Six Weeks In, and Already Summoned
Keiko Fujimori took office on 28 July after winning the 2026 general election. José María Balcázar had held the presidency on a transitional basis since February.
On Wednesday the Chamber of Deputies voted to interpellate Interior Minister César Astudillo. The margin was 66 votes to 51, with one abstention.
He must appear before the plenary on 17 September and answer 27 questions. Four of them concern the performance of the national police commander, who announced his retirement during the period under scrutiny.
The trigger was a kidnapping in Trujillo, in La Libertad. A mining businessman was seized and four of his companions were killed.
The motion also cites extortion networks and illegal gold mining. Both are now central to Andean region security policy.
Peru’s restored bicameral Congress is using its new powers hard. At least fourteen requests have been filed for Fujimori’s ministers to explain themselves, and nine were summoned in the government’s first weeks.
Fujimori has questioned the pace, asking publicly whether an interpellation was warranted after only two weeks. The congresswoman who proposed it argued that weak leadership was damaging public confidence.
Peru: The Forecast That Frightens the Treasury
In an interview on Friday the president was blunt about El Niño. Her words were that the effect will be terrible and that its magnitude cannot be imagined.
She attacked her predecessors for inaction, saying the first alert came in February and nothing was done between then and July. The measures she listed are river clearing, bridge reinforcement and riverbank defences.
The national forecasting committee puts the probability of an extraordinary El Niño between September 2026 and January 2027 at 62%. An emergency declaration covers 893 districts across 22 regions for 60 days.
The central bank governor has warned the economic hit could exceed current estimates. He noted that fiscal reserves are already at a 25-year low.
Crime is doing its own damage to daily life. A survey this week found 85% of Peruvians have changed their nighttime routines out of fear of crime or extortion.
Ecuador: A Curfew and an Argument About Fishermen
The government imposed a nighttime curfew across four coastal provinces, citing rising insecurity. Fuel prices changed from 12 September, with premium petrol rising to US$4.79.
The larger argument is offshore. Marco Rubio visited on 9 and 10 September, and President Daniel Noboa decorated him.
The award was the Gran Cruz de la Orden Nacional al Mérito. Noboa praised his capacity to resolve problems.
Rubio said American maritime operations form part of bilateral agreements and confirmed that strikes on vessels will continue. He attributed sinkings to narcotrafficking rather than to American action.
Ecuador’s human rights committee puts the toll at 143 fishermen affected and at least nine vessels destroyed. Those are the committee’s figures, not the government’s.
Ecuadorian legislators publicly rejected the decoration the following day. Noboa’s next foreign trip is to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
On land the government says it destroyed 1,119 illegal mining camps between January and September. Illegal gold is now a larger criminal economy in parts of the Andean region than cocaine.
Bolivia: An Extension That Is Not Law Yet
President Rodrigo Paz imposed a nationwide state of exception by decree on 20 June for 90 days. It bans road blockades and the carrying of weapons and explosives.
On Thursday the Chamber of Deputies justice committee approved a draft resolution extending it by a further 90 days. That is a committee step, not an enacted extension.
The full chamber must debate it, and the vice-president must then convene both houses in joint session. Deputies expect that the following week.
The original blockades ran for seven weeks in May and June. The government attributes 16 deaths and more than US$3 billion in economic losses to them.
No constitutional referendum has been called, contrary to some reporting. The Senate president said this week that a vote on partial reform could be about a year away.
Evo Morales has sharpened his opposition. He called the government’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund a betrayal of the homeland.
Colombia: A Record High and a Court Defeat
The MSCI Colcap index reached a record 2,626 points. Grupo Energía Bogotá is advancing plans for a New York listing.
The same week a circuit court in Putumayo suspended the government’s aerial coca spraying pilot. The attorney general’s office separately seized assets belonging to former presidential candidate Óscar Iván Zuluaga in a campaign finance investigation.
Police captured an Ecuadorian gang leader known as Comandante 07 in Soacha, working with Ecuadorian intelligence. His organisation, Los Tiguerones, was designated a terrorist organisation by the United States on 9 September.
Colombia also restored visa-free travel with Israel for tourism, following the resumption of diplomatic relations in August. Ordinary passport holders may now enter for up to 90 days in a year.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the president of Peru?
Keiko Fujimori, sworn in on 28 July 2026 after winning the general election. José María Balcázar had served as transitional president from February 2026.
What is an interpellation?
It is a formal parliamentary summons requiring a minister to appear and answer written questions. In Peru it can precede a censure motion.
Is Bolivia’s state of exception extended?
Not yet. A committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved a draft resolution on 10 September, but the full chamber and a joint session of both houses must still act.
Why are Ecuadorian fishermen affected by US strikes?
Because American forces have been striking vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific. A national human rights committee says 143 Ecuadorian fishermen have been affected.
Sources: Infobae Perú, Exitosa Noticias, Primicias, Expreso, NODAL, Prensa Latina, Opinión, La Razón, eju.tv, Infobae Colombia, El Comercio, Portafolio, Associated Press.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times