Lima (Agenzia Fides) - "It is urgent to continue and promote the fight against all faces of corruption which has revealed a social cancer that must be definitively cured. Therefore, we must not stop. The commitment and responsibility of the authorities must continue this fight in order to achieve a more transparent and fair Peru". It is in these terms that the Peruvian Bishops' Conference (CEP) appeals to the people and the Peruvian authorities to pursue the political program and follow the calendar of the upcoming presidential elections in 2021, after the Peruvian Congress dismissed President Martín Vizcarra (see Fides, 11/11/2020). Political tension is strong in the country, where 3 presidents have succeeded in less than four years, and where the pandemic has registered 925,000 cases and 35,000 deaths.
"Peru needs the effort of each of us to consolidate itself as a nation. The rule of law, the independence of powers, justice, legality, freedom, government and democratic institutions are values without which the building of a society is weakened or destroyed. It is therefore necessary to ensure, as mentioned, the holding of the general elections next April, as well as the transfer of government authority in July 2021", reads the CEP document sent to Fides.
"In this current context, we must strengthen and give priority to the health, economic and social emergency which is shaking our country. For this reason, we call on Governors and the political class to promote decent work, quality health and education for all, especially the poor and the most vulnerable. It is time to give up personal and group interests in order to promote economic reactivation and build paths of solidarity, fraternity and integral development. It is time to listen to the population and act while thinking of Peru", write the Bishops.
The text concludes by inviting a day of prayer for peace, solidarity and fraternity in all the ecclesiastical circumscriptions, under the guidance of their respective Ordinaries. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 12/11/2020)