PERU · POLITICS · DECREE POWERS
Peru’s Congress has corrected the opening line of Law 32743, the Peru decree powers law that lets President Keiko Fujimori’s government write laws by decree for 90 days, after it named only the Senate as its author.
Key Facts
- —The fix The law now opens with “El Congreso de la República” instead of “El Senado de la República”.
- —The date The correction was printed in the official gazette on Saturday 24 October 2026.
- —The law It lets the government legislate by decree for 90 days on 27 crime and El Niño matters.
- —Still open Whether the missing signatures of the deputies’ leaders will be challenged in court.
- —Next step Spokespeople of both chambers meet on Tuesday 27 October at 10:30 a.m. in Lima.
- —Power Index Peru ranks 5th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 54.7 points (October 2026 edition).
Peru’s Congress published a correction on Saturday 24 October 2026 to Law 32743, which lets President Keiko Fujimori’s government write laws by decree on crime and El Niño for 90 days. The gazette El Peruano now shows the law opening with “El Congreso de la República” where it had said “El Senado de la República,” after Senate President Miguel Torres admitted a “material error” that he had defended as correct only a day earlier.
For readers in the United States, the fix matters because the decree powers reach migration and nationality rules, public-private infrastructure projects, land for public works and El Niño relief, all areas that touch foreign residents and investors in Peru. The correction changes only the heading, not the signature lines that the leaders of the Chamber of Deputies said were missing, and the prime minister said on Saturday that the government would wait for a meeting on Tuesday 27 October before it starts using the powers.
In Plain English
- Law 32743: the law that lets the government write laws by decree for 90 days on 27 matters, 12 on crime and 15 on El Niño.
- Decree powers: a time-limited permission from Congress for the executive to write laws itself on named topics.
- Fe de erratas: an official correction notice for a slip in a published text, here printed in El Peruano, the state gazette.
- Senate and Chamber of Deputies: the two chambers of Peru’s Congress; Torres of the conservative Fuerza Popular party presides over the Senate and Congress, and Óscar Reto leads the deputies.
What the Correction Says
The notice, printed in an extraordinary edition of El Peruano on Saturday 24 October, says the chief clerk’s office of Congress asked for the correction through Official Letter 078-2026-2027-OM/CR. It replaces the line “El Senado de la República; Ha dado la Ley siguiente” with “El Congreso de la República; Ha dado la Ley siguiente” and leaves the law’s title unchanged.
The body of the law already said, in Article 2, that “El Congreso de la República delega facultades en el Poder Ejecutivo,” which means Congress delegates powers to the executive. The closing lines of the law published on Thursday 22 October carry the names of Torres and First Vice President Alejandro Muñante as Senate leaders, and the correction notice does not mention those signature lines.
“A material error has been identified in the heading, where ‘Senado’ was entered instead of ‘Congreso’. I have ordered that the correction be processed immediately.”
Miguel Torres, president of the Senate and of Congress, statement of Saturday 24 October 2026 (translated from Spanish)
How the Dispute Over the Signatures Unfolded
Law 32743, described in an earlier report on its 27 matters, appeared on Thursday 22 October with only the Senate named as author and signed only by Torres and Muñante as Senate leaders. Torres told the TV channel Canal N that day that critics were “confusing themselves with the bicameralism of ’79” and that the Senate president is the one who sends the final text to the executive, Infobae reported.
On Friday 23 October, Reto sent Torres an official letter asking him to take “the pertinent corrective measures,” arguing that Congress is made up of both chambers, Infobae reported. Torres replied on X that the text was signed and sent in line with the Constitution and the Senate rules, citing Article 105 of the Constitution and Articles 37 and 148 of the Senate rules, Gestión reported.
On Saturday Prime Minister Luis Galarreta told Canal N that he fully backed the signatures, El Comercio reported, and Torres announced the correction the same day. Constitutional experts had said on the radio station RPP that the heading should name Congress, among them former Congress chief clerk César Delgado-Guembes and lawyer Natale Amprimo, Gestión reported.
The Week in Dates
- Thursday 22 October: Fujimori promulgates Law 32743 in El Peruano.
- Friday 23 October: Reto asks Torres to correct the text; Torres defends it.
- Saturday 24 October: Torres admits the error; the correction is printed.
- Tuesday 27 October, 10:30 a.m.: both chambers’ spokespeople meet.
What Happens Next for the Peru Decree Powers Law
The next fixed date is Tuesday 27 October, when the spokesperson boards of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies meet at 10:30 a.m. in the Sala Grau, followed by a joint session, according to the Congress notice reported by Gestión. Torres called the meeting under Article 85 of the Congress rules.
Galarreta said the executive will wait for that meeting before it activates the delegated powers, in case a correction is raised there, El Comercio reported. He added that internal steps before a first decree or bill reaches the Council of Ministers will take “more or less 15 to 20 days,” after Gestión had reported him saying the first decrees would be ready in 10 to 12 days.
The law counts its 90 calendar days from its entry into force, not from the first decree, so days spent waiting use up the window. Deputy Fernando García of the Buen Gobierno caucus said on Friday 23 October that his group was weighing a competence suit at the Constitutional Tribunal and the party Juntos por el Perú announced an unconstitutionality suit over the Senate vote, while Torres answered that a competence suit does not fit a dispute inside one body, Gestión and La República reported.
What to Watch
- What the spokespeople of both chambers decide on Tuesday 27 October.
- Whether Reto and the Chamber of Deputies accept the correction.
- Whether the announced suits at the Constitutional Tribunal are filed against the law.
- The first decrees under the law, which will be printed in El Peruano.
What It Means for You
For US investors and contractors, the measures that matter most are the changes to public-private partnerships, infrastructure approvals, land for public works and regional investment projects, which the law lists among its El Niño matters. A corrected heading does not change that list, and no court ruling on how the law was signed had been reported by Sunday morning.
For US citizens living in or moving to Peru, the first security item lets the government rewrite rules on migration and nationality, with due process and family unity named in the law as rights to be fully respected. Any decree on that subject will appear in El Peruano, where foreign residents can read the text once it is published.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether the correction ends the dispute, because the notice leaves the signature lines untouched and no public reaction from Reto to the correction had been reported by Sunday morning. Torres’s statement says the law was approved by both chambers, and the text shows that only Senate leaders signed it.
No court or prosecutor has ruled on the missing signatures, and La República reported on Friday that a lawyer had filed a criminal complaint for alleged abuse of authority against Fujimori, Galarreta, Torres and Muñante, which is an allegation and not a finding. Whether a heading error could affect the validity of a law is a question that constitutional experts and lawmakers dispute.
It is also not known when the first decrees will appear, because Galarreta’s estimate of 15 to 20 days is a forecast and the executive has said it will wait for Tuesday’s meeting. The text of the law fixes only the 90-day limit and no date for the first decree.
Connected Coverage
- Peru Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026, the parties and offices behind the dispute.
- Peru Political Instability Explained: Nine Presidents Since 2016 and Why They Fell, the background to the clashes in Congress.
- Lima City Guide for Expats and Visitors, the capital where Congress sits.
- Peru Creates 5-Minister Security Commission, on the government’s crime plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Peru’s Congress correct in Law 32743?
It replaced “El Senado de la República” with “El Congreso de la República” in the law’s opening line. The notice appeared in the official gazette El Peruano on Saturday 24 October 2026.
Does the correction change what the law allows?
No, it changes only the heading. The 90-day period and the 27 matters on crime and El Niño stay as published on Thursday 22 October.
When can Peru’s government start using the decree powers?
Prime Minister Luis Galarreta said on Saturday that the executive will wait for the Tuesday 27 October meeting of both chambers. He estimates 15 to 20 days of internal steps before a measure reaches the Council of Ministers.
Why does this matter to US readers?
The powers cover migration and nationality rules, infrastructure approvals and land for public works, which affect foreign residents and investors. Any decree will be printed in El Peruano.
Is the law still being challenged?
A deputies’ caucus is weighing a suit and the party Juntos por el Perú has announced one at the Constitutional Tribunal, and a criminal complaint was reported. None had produced a ruling by Sunday morning.
Sources: El Peruano, extraordinary edition, Fe de Erratas of Law 32743, 24 October 2026, El Peruano, extraordinary edition, text of Law 32743, 22 October 2026, Congress of Peru, Senate page, Congress of Peru, Chamber of Deputies page, Andina, 24 October 2026, Gestión, Torres announces correction, 24 October 2026, Gestión, dispute over signatures, 24 October 2026, Gestión, spokespeople meeting, 24 October 2026, Gestión, Galarreta on timing, 24 October 2026, El Comercio, Galarreta, 24 October 2026, El Comercio, correction published, 24 October 2026, Infobae Perú, 24 October 2026, Gestión, Buen Gobierno and the Constitutional Tribunal, 23 October 2026, La República, criminal complaint, 23 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief