Peru approves its secret plan to modernize the armed forces by 2034

The Peruvian government approved the so-called Strategic Plan to Improve the Joint Military Capabilities of the Armed Forces until 2034 through Supreme Decree No. 073-2022-EN, dated October 13, 2022.

The project, prepared by the Joint Command of the Peruvian Armed Forces, has been classified as a “secret document,” meaning that the planning process for procurement, contracting, and modernization of military equipment is unknown.

The secrecy of the strategic plan by the executive branch goes so far that two defense ministers, José Luis Gavidia and Richard Tineo Quispe, have already been dismissed after providing details about the plans to modernize the military equipment of the Peruvian Armed Forces.

First, Gavidia gave an extensive interview to a local radio station in which he reported on the planning process for the coming years, and Tineo Quispe, for his part, participated in the creation of the working table that aims to strengthen the Peruvian naval industry.

Both officials were replaced a few days after these events, as the current Peruvian state administration has a very high turnover of ministers, which hinders the implementation of planning processes.

PREVIOUS LAWS AND DOCUMENTS

The approved plan is based on Law No. 28455, which created the “Fund for the Armed Forces and the National Police,” as well as on the regulation related to this law, approved by Supreme Decree No. 011-2005-DE-SG, which establishes the mechanisms for managing the Fund, as well as the organization and functions of the committee in charge of managing the Fund.

Oficio N° 582-2022-MINDEF/COSEDENA of the Secretariat of the National Security and Defense Council, informing the Joint Command that on July 11 of this year the Strategic Plan for the Improvement of Joint Military Capabilities until 2034 was presented and approved at a meeting of the Council; Oficio N° 1758-2022-MINDEF/VRD-DGPP of the Directorate General of Planning and Budget of the Ministry of Defense, presenting a report with a positive opinion on the Strategic Plan.

Likewise, Technical Report No. 027-2022-MINDEF/VPD-DIGEPE of the General Directorate of Policy and Strategy of the Ministry of Defense, in which the Strategic Plan is endorsed.

Oficio No. 932-2022-MINDEF/VRD-DGRRMM of the General Directorate of Material Resources of the Ministry of Defense states that the Strategic Plan will indeed improve military capabilities in accordance with the strategic missions of the defense sector.

And Legal Opinion No. 01561-MINDEF/VPD-DIGEPE of the General Directorate of Policy and Strategy of the Department of Defense, which endorses the Strategic Plan;

And Legal Opinion No. 01561-2022-MINDEF/SG-OGAJ of the General Legal Counsel Office of the Ministry, which considers the formal approval of the Strategic Plan by a supreme resolution to be feasible, which was done with the publication of said resolution in the Official Gazette El Peruano on October 14, 2022.