Op-ed: Peru needs a new constitution

eru cycled through three different presidents in a week last month—a record even in a country notorious for shifting political winds. Popular demonstrations have spilled onto the streets, led by young people who are advocating for major institutional changes in the country. Some are pushing for a referendum on a new constitution in the same way that demonstrators in Chile successfully did this past year. Peru should follow in Chile’s footsteps and write a new constitution. [ . . . ] Like Chile’s Pinochet-era constitution, Peru’s constitution embeds a host of elements that make it unresponsive to popular demands. Too much power is concentrated in an unaccountable Congress. Indigenous groups are underrepresented in politics. Peripheral regions of the country are often ignored when it comes to policymaking. The judiciary is unduly subject to political pressure. And some of the social and economic rights that the constitution enshrines are no longer in keeping with shifting social norms.
Read the full article here: Foreign Policy