PERU · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The country Peru is a South American mining economy led since July 2026 by President Keiko Fujimori of the conservative Fuerza Popular party.
- —Why it matters The law lets the government rewrite rules on migration, firearms, prisons, phone tracking, infrastructure permits and flood relief by decree, with Senate review afterwards.
- —Why now President Fujimori signed Law 32743 on Thursday 22 October 2026, one day after the Senate approved it by 35 votes to 18.
- —What happened The law delegates the power to legislate on 27 matters, 12 on security and 15 on El Niño, for 90 calendar days, and the prime minister expects first decrees in 10 to 12 days.
- —The numbers The Senate voted 35 for, 18 against and 6 abstentions; deputies had approved 20 matters and the Senate added 7.
- —What it means for you Investors, contractors and foreign residents should watch decrees on public-private projects, land clearance, migration and nationality rules.
- —Still open Whether the Constitutional Tribunal takes up the opposition challenge, and what the first decrees say.
- —Power Index Peru ranks 5th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 54.7 points (October 2026 edition).
The Peru decree powers that President Keiko Fujimori requested became law on Thursday 22 October 2026, when she signed Law 32743, which lets her government write laws by decree for 90 calendar days on crime and El Niño. The law appeared the same day in an extraordinary edition of the official gazette El Peruano, a day after the Senate approved it by 35 votes to 18.
For US readers the practical effect of the Peru decree powers is speed, because Prime Minister Luis Galarreta says the first decrees under the law will be ready in 10 to 12 days. The delegated matters include migration and nationality rules, firearms, phone tracking, public-private infrastructure projects and land purchases for public works, all areas that touch foreign residents and investors.
The decree powers are the prize of a weeks-long fight in Congress, which we followed in our reports on the Chamber of Deputies vote and the Senate committee’s 27-point text. This article covers the final law, the vote that passed it, what it allows and the challenges that followed.
What the Peru Decree Powers Law Allows
Law 32743 delegates to the executive the power to issue legislative decrees on 27 matters for 90 calendar days, counted from the law’s entry into force. El Comercio counts 12 of the matters as citizen security and 15 as preventing and responding to El Niño, a climate pattern that brings heavy rain and flooding to Peru’s coast.
The Chamber of Deputies had approved 20 matters earlier this month, and the Senate’s Constitution Committee added seven more, six on security and one on disaster prevention. The final law carries all 27, El Comercio reported.
The law bars the government from creating new crimes or cutting due-process, defence and presumption-of-innocence guarantees, La República reported. It also says the phone measures cannot give mass access to the content of communications and the firearms measures cannot widen the civilian-use categories or reduce existing controls.
Each sector must report in writing to the Senate’s Constitution Committee within 60 days of publishing its decrees, La República reported. The law also leaves untouched the powers of Congress, regional and local governments and autonomous bodies.
Security Powers Cover Migration, Guns and Prisons
On security the executive may change the rules on migration and nationality, on firearms, ammunition and explosives, and on the prison system, including a modernisation of the national prison institute INPE. El Comercio and Gestión add that the delegation covers organised crime and illicit markets, the national intelligence system and its directorate DINI, and criminal groups that use methods of violence similar to terrorism.
The law also allows rules on identifying and geolocating mobile phones and electronic devices used in crimes, a limited and temporary role for the armed forces in securing prison perimeters, and clearer rules for when the military supports the police. La República adds a presumption of rationality in self-defence cases and a separate prison unit for adults sentenced for serious crimes committed as teenagers.
Other items change the juvenile criminal responsibility code and create supervised release after prison for cases of hired killing, extortion and criminal organisations. Galarreta called the powers “few” but promised to use them “effectively and forcefully” (our translation).
El Niño and Infrastructure Powers
For El Niño, the executive may let the civil defence institute INDECI hand out humanitarian aid directly during the first 15 days of an emergency, La República reported. It may also simplify administrative procedures, digitise public services and create a simplified land-registry regime for social-housing projects, El Comercio and Gestión reported.
For investors the most relevant items let the executive amend the rules on public-private partnerships, simplify approvals for projects in the national infrastructure plan and change how land is bought, expropriated and cleared for public works. It can also expand Works for Taxes, a scheme in which private companies finance public works and are repaid through tax credits, and revise the water and sanitation law.
How the Senate Voted on the Powers
The Senate approved the text on Wednesday 21 October 2026 by 35 votes to 18, with six abstentions, after a debate of more than three hours, El Comercio reported. In favour were 22 senators of Fuerza Popular, Fujimori’s party, eight of Renovación Popular, a conservative party, three of Obras and two of the Partido del Buen Gobierno.
Against were 14 senators of Juntos por el Perú and four of Ahora Nación, while five Buen Gobierno senators and one from Obras abstained. Galarreta lamented the “meanness” of a “radical sector” of Congress (our translation) and said the debate showed who stood with Peru.
Buen Gobierno leader Jorge Nieto said the two senators of his party who voted yes broke party discipline and would face its sanctions procedure after a hearing, La República reported. Nieto also proposed passing the seven added matters as ordinary bills instead.
Challenges Follow the New Law
Senators of Juntos por el Perú announced on Friday 23 October 2026 that they will file an unconstitutionality suit at the Constitutional Tribunal over the Senate’s approval of 27 matters instead of the 20 passed by deputies, El Comercio reported. They said that “neither a gentleman’s pact nor good faith can stand above the Constitution or the rules” (our translation).
The Buen Gobierno caucus is weighing a competence suit at the same tribunal, Gestión reported on Friday. Senate President Miguel Torres of Fuerza Popular answered that a competence suit is not the right route, since it settles disputes between separate bodies, and that opponents can file an unconstitutionality action instead.
A separate criminal complaint by lawyer Javier Adrianzen Carreño at the national prosecutor’s office accuses Fujimori, Galarreta and senators Torres and Alejandro Muñante of abuse of authority, La República reported. He argues the law was published without the signatures of Chamber of Deputies president Óscar Reto and its first vice president Analí Márquez, which is an allegation, not a finding.
Torres denied any error on Thursday and said the Constitution has the Senate president send the bill to the executive, so Reto did not need to sign, El Comercio reported. The civil-society group Transparencia asked Congress to define when a Senate change complements a deputies’ text and when it distorts it, La República reported.
What It Means for You
Foreign residents and migrants should watch the migration and nationality decrees under the Peru decree powers, because the law allows changes to control rules and the first texts are due within weeks. Visitors are unlikely to feel an immediate change, as the sources reviewed show no change to tourist entry rules.
Investors and contractors should watch decrees on public-private partnerships, Works for Taxes, land clearance and project approvals, which the law lets the government change to speed work after El Niño. Our report on the El Niño stimulus package covers the spending side, and our mining investment report covers the sector.
Our guides Who Dominates Peru, Elites and Regions Explained and Peru Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026 explain the institutions behind this fight. Our Lima expat city guide covers daily life in the capital.
What Is Not Known
The text of the law could not be opened on El Peruano’s own site for this article, so its number, date and scope rest on El Comercio, Gestión and La República, which agree on them. The sources do not give the exact start day of the 90-day count, though our own count puts its end near 20 January 2027 if it starts with the 22 October publication.
No decree under the law has been published yet, so what the rules on migration, nationality, firearms and phone tracking will say is unknown. The sources also do not say how many of the 27 matters the government will use or how it will handle the matters Congress left out.
It is not known whether the Constitutional Tribunal will accept the opposition suits or how long a ruling would take. The sources reviewed show no prosecutor action on the criminal complaint, which is one lawyer’s allegation, and Torres has denied any error in the signing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Peru decree powers?
Law 32743 lets the government issue legislative decrees for 90 calendar days on 27 matters of security and El Niño. President Fujimori signed it on Thursday 22 October 2026.
How did the Senate vote on the decree powers?
The Senate approved them on Wednesday 21 October 2026 by 35 votes to 18, with six abstentions. Fuerza Popular, Renovación Popular and Obras voted in favour, along with two Buen Gobierno senators.
When will the first decrees come?
Prime Minister Luis Galarreta said they should be ready in 10 to 12 days. He said anything that cannot go by legislative decree will go by urgency decree or as a bill.
Is the law being challenged?
Juntos por el Perú senators announced a suit at the Constitutional Tribunal over the seven matters the Senate added. A lawyer also filed a criminal complaint over missing signatures, an allegation Senate President Torres has denied.
What does it mean for US readers?
It sets up quick changes to Peruvian rules on migration, firearms and infrastructure permits, which matter to investors, contractors and foreign residents. The decrees themselves will show how far the changes go.
Sources: El Comercio, 22 October 2026; El Comercio, Senate vote, 21 October 2026; El Comercio, Torres on promulgation, 22 October 2026; El Comercio, 23 October 2026; Gestión, Law 32743, 22 October 2026; La República, 22 October 2026; La República, 23 October 2026; La República, Nieto, 22 October 2026; La República, Transparencia, 22 October 2026; Gestión, 23 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error