Peru's Ruling Coalition Starts to Fracture

One year after elections, cracks are emerging in Peru’s dominant political coalition. Three leftist members of the country’s unicameral Congress broke with President Ollanta Humala’s Gana Peru alliance yesterday, objecting to Humala’s shift from a spirited leftist candidate to a relatively moderate president once in office, especially in relation to mining projects.

La Republica reports that the first of the three to break from Gana Peru, Veronika Mendoza, came as a “solid blow” to the Humala government. Mendoza was a founding member of Humala’s Nationalist Party, as well as a longtime friend of First Lady Nadine Heredia. In her renunciation letter, the congresswoman from the Cusco region criticized Humala’s position on the current mining conflict in her constituency, accusing the president of deceiving the country and “defending the neoliberal model.”

Mendoza’s decision paved the way for two other left-leaning legislators, Javier Diez Canseco and Rosa Mavila, to break from Gana Peru. Diez and Mavila also blasted Humala’s handling of mining conflicts in the country, and reserved special criticism for Prime Minster Oscar Valdes, whom the president has tasked with mediating the conflicts but has been condemned by the left as heavy-handed. All three lawmakers spearheaded a recent push in the Peruvian Congress to force Valdes to retire which was rejected by President Humala, who expressed complete support for the minister last week.

It remains to be seen whether any more members of Gana Peru’s left wing will leave the coalition. RPP reported in January that at least nine members of congress had begun to voice ideological differences with the Humala administration. Four of these, including Mendoza’s Cusco counterparts Ruben Coa and Jaime Valencia, are rumored to be considering a break with Gana Peru in the coming days.

Humala’s political opponents have predictably seized upon this internal division to critique the government. Opposition congresswoman Lourdes Alcorta of the Alliance for the Great Change alliance told Peru21 that the disunion was a sign of “immaturity,” saying that those who resigned were simply “not capable of explaining the reality of mining investment to the population, [and] incapable of  bringing order.” Despite such criticism, Gana Peru officials are attempting to minimize the departures and present a united front. This may be more difficult for them, and for President Humala, if the rumors of additional resignations come true.

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