Bishops clash over democracy in Peru in contradictory statements

(OSV News) -- The presidency of the Peru bishops' conference has distanced itself from an episcopal commission's dire warnings on democracy.

The Peruvian bishops' Episcopal Social Action Commission recently warned of democratic decline so severe in the South American country "that we can no longer call Peru a democratic country, where people's dignity is respected."

The episcopal conference's president and vice president, however, said in a July 12 statement that the commission's assertion "does not reflect the bishops' thinking."

Archbishop Héctor Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte of Trujillo is president and Bishop Carlos Enrique García Camader of Lurín is vice president.

An unsigned statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Archbishop Cabrejos said the social action commission's pronouncement "has not been coordinated with the presidency of the episcopal conference."

"The Peruvian bishops' conference, in line with what was expressed in (previous statements)," it continued, "certainly wants a Peru that experiences full democracy and respect for human dignity at all levels, where together we strengthen and promote a culture of legality, social solidarity and the common good."

The conflicting statements, which received extensive media attention, suggested disagreement in the Peruvian bishops' conference amid deep social discontent over governance in the country, where disdain for the political class runs deep, according to approval surveys. The Peruvian bishops' conference did not immediately respond to a query seeking comment.

The Episcopal Social Action Commission said in its July 8 statement that it "joined" the bishops' conference's previously stated objectives of creating "a culture of legality, the common good and solidarity in Peru" -- outlined in a June 26 statement.

The commission statement expressed dismay over an erasure of the separation of powers in Peru, rising poverty and Congress approving an amnesty law June 6 for crimes against humanity committed by soldiers prior to 2002. The period covered by the law includes a time of terrorism and internal conflict, when soldiers suppressed a Maoist insurgency.

President Alberto Fujimori, the strongman who governed through the 1990s was convicted in 2009 on charges of corruption and ordering massacres in 2009 and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was pardoned in 2017 for "humanitarian reasons" -- in what The Economist magazine described as a likely "grubby political deal" -- and released from prison in 2023. Keiko Fujimori, a three-time presidential candidate and an influential politician, said July 14 that her father, now 85 and battling cancer, would run for president again in 2026.

"We are outraged by the looming shadows that cover our beloved homeland due to the particular interests of groups and people who, seeking their own benefit, destroy democracy and institutions, violate human rights, human dignity and that of our nation and ignore the rule of law," the commission statement said.

Polls in Peru show deep public disapproval for politicians. A survey by Instituto de Estudios Peruanos found 94% of respondents disapprove of Congress, while President Dina Boluarte had a 90% disapproval rating.

"Peru's deeply unpopular Congress is dismantling checks, rewriting the constitutional rules and curbing the independence of regulators and the judiciary at an alarming speed," Will Freeman, fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told OSV News.

Similar attempts at weakening these "checks" -- including attacks on the judiciary branch, electoral authorities and other autonomous institutions -- are occurring in other Latin American countries such as Mexico and El Salvador, but have been "backed by immense popular support," Freeman said. "What sets Peru's rapid backsliding apart is that it isn't even occurring by popular demand," the expert said.