The presidency of Francisco Sagasti in Peru started on 17 November 2020 in the midst of a constitutional crisis which resulted in multiple presidential successions to complete the remaining 2020–2021 presidential term. The administration has been deemed as a "Transitional government" and an "Emergency government" in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic recession, and a political crisis which dominated Peruvian life.
Ascension to the presidency On 15 November 2020, following the resignation of interim president Manuel Merino and the executive board of Congress, the legislative body elected a new President of Congress that through presidential succession, would assume the role of President. The first list of candidates was headed by Rocio Silva-Santisteban of Frente Amplio, who did not reach the vote threshold to become President of Congress. The second list of candidates had congressmen from Partido Morado, Frente Amplio, Accion Popular, and Somos Peru, which was approved. +Second roundOfficeLegislatorPartyPresidentFrancisco Rafael Sagasti HochhauslerPartido MoradoFirst Vice PresidentMirtha Esther Vásquez ChuquilínFrente AmplioSecond Vice PresidentLuis Andrés Roel AlvaAcción PopularThird Vice PresidentMatilde Fernández FloresSomos Perú PresidentDateVoteTotalFrancisco Sagasti16 November 2020YesNo
Presidency National Police Five days after the inauguration, Sagasti announced major changes in the executive board of the National Police and announced that César Cervantes would be appointed as the National General.
Bermúdez Cabinet
On 3 December 2020, the Council of Ministers chaired by Violeta Bermúdez attended the Congress of the Republic to present the General Policy of the Government and the principal measures required by its administration (in compliance with Article 130 of the Political Constitution). The presentation took place amid the Agrarian Strike in the departments of Ica and La Libertad. During the debate, congressman Lenin Bazán Villanueva reported the death of a person in Virú Province, as a result of protests by agro-export workers. The various parliamentary groups withdrew their list of speakers and proceeded to vote. The Bermúdez Cabinet obtained the vote of confidence with 111 votes in favor.
ONP law On 2 December 2020, the Congress of the Republic approved by insistence the bill for the "return" of up to S/4,300 in contributions to the Office of Pension Normalization (ONP). The bill had previously been objected to by the government of Martín Vizcarra in October. President Sagasti warned that, if the bill were approved, the Executive would present an unconstitutionality lawsuit before the Constitutional Court. On 7 December 2020, the minister of economy and finance, Waldo Mendoza Bellido, announced that the Council of Ministers would approve the filing of the lawsuit before the Constitutional Court.
On 9 December, Prime Minister Violeta Bermúdez announced that the Executive approved filing an unconstitutionality lawsuit.
General elections and electoral crisis
During the vote count after the 2021 Peruvian general election, and following the publication of the results of the runoff by the National Office of Electoral Processes (which showed a favorable result for Pedro Castillo), Keiko Fujimori (his opponent), and her political party, Popular Force, carried out an unprecedented effort to reverse the result. Fujimori and her allies – who are part of Peruvian conservatism and who carried out an electoral campaign – promoted numerous unfounded claims that the elections had been stolen from them through an international communist conspiracy,This is not the first time that a phenomenon of coalition by the political right against groups outside it has been observed, at least since the 2000s. For a better understanding of the conspiratorial phenomenon that denoted divisiveness, see Caviar left in Peru. and manipulation of electoral tally sheets.
The accusations were dismissed by the Peruvian electoral body, and rejected by electoral observers from the Organization of American States, the European Union, the Asociación Civil Transparencia, International IDEA, among others. The U.S. Department of State issued a statement describing the Peruvian electoral system as "a model of democracy in the region", and the elections themselves as "free, fair, accessible and peaceful". On the other hand, several Peruvian public figures (mainly Fujimori allies in the runoff and right-wing politicians) refused to publicly recognize Castillo's victory, insisting on electoral fraud and even requesting a repeat of the elections.
Fujimori's campaign submitted 945 annulment requests after election day, all of which were rejected by the Special Electoral Juries, and the National Jury of Elections. The official proclamation of Pedro Castillo as president-elect took place on 19 July 2021.
Handling of the pandemic
Vaccination
The first batch with 300,000 vaccines from the Chinese laboratory Sinopharm, which were part of a one-million-dose agreement, arrived in Peru on the night of Sunday, 7 February 2021. Vaccination officially began on 8 February and one of the first immunized individuals, together with medical personnel, was President Francisco Sagasti. Days later, the scandal known as Vacunagate came to light, provoking the resignation of Pilar Mazzetti, who was replaced by Óscar Ugarte. The new minister stated that despite everything, the vaccination process would not stop. The vaccination schedule prioritized frontline workers such as healthcare personnel, cleaning staff, members of the Peruvian Armed Forces, police officers, firefighters and people with rare diseases; afterwards, elderly people, followed by adults, youths and adolescents. Sagasti's administration reached agreements for more than 90 million vaccines with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sputnik V and through the COVAX mechanism for the inoculation of people over 12 years old throughout the country.
Quarantine
The Executive implemented measures according to the level of health alert in which the provinces of the country were located: moderate, high, very high and extreme. On 26 January 2021, President Sagasti announced, through a Message to the Nation, that he was decreeing quarantine in 10 regions considered at extreme risk: Metropolitan Lima and Lima Region, Callao, Ancash, Pasco, Junín, Huancavelica, Huánuco, Ica and Apurímac. Initially, it was said that this measure would remain in force from 31 January until 14 February; however, it was decided to extend it until the end of the month, though this time focused on 32 provinces in 17 regions considered at extreme risk: Utcubamba, Arequipa, Camaná, Islay, Caylloma, Huamanga, Cutervo, Canchis, La Convención, Huancavelica, Ica, Chincha, Pisco, Metropolitan Lima, Callao, Huaura, Cañete, Barranca, Huaral, Huancayo, Tarma, Yauri, Chanchamayo, Tacna, Huánuco, Puno, Santa, Abancay, Pasco, Maynas, Ramón Castilla and Ilo. On 24 February, during a Council of Ministers meeting, it was decided to lift the quarantine and impose a curfew and mandatory social immobilization on Sundays. Despite the consistent increase in cases, the government only decreed temporary quarantines for Holy Week, for Mother's Day and for Father's Day.
Awareness campaigns
During the government of Sagasti, various communication strategies were issued to raise awareness and slow the spread of COVID-19. One of these was "No bajemos la guardia" ("Let's not lower our guard"), which sought to encourage citizens to continue complying with biosecurity measures such as washing hands, wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing and avoiding crowded places. Following the same line, the campaign "Dile no a las 3 'C'" ("Say no to the 3 'C's") was launched: no to close contact, no to closed spaces and no to crowded places. To promote vaccination, the Ministry of Health launched the "Pongo el hombro" ("I shoulder the responsibility") campaign, aimed at increasing public acceptance and demand for immunization through testimonies from already vaccinated individuals such as healthcare workers, members of the armed forces and older adults.
Social aspects Agrarian strike
Demanding the repeal of Emergency Decree 043-2019, which extended the validity of the Agrarian Promotion Law, and requesting labor improvements, agro-export workers began an indefinite agrarian strike in different sectors of Ica on 30 November 2020. The demonstrators blocked the South Pan-American Highway as a sign of protest. They were joined by day laborers from La Libertad, Piura and Apurímac. Labor minister Javier Palacios Gallegos attended a dialogue table in Ica, which failed to reach any agreement. The Executive sent a bill to Congress to modify the labor chapter of the Agrarian Promotion Law; however, Congress rejected the request and agreed to repeal the law and form a multiparty commission to create a labor regime for the agricultural sector. In response, Sagasti announced that he would not object to the law. After the repeal of the Agrarian Promotion Law, the protesters cleared the highways, but in the absence of a new law they once again took over the roads. The demonstrations left at least 12 dead and dozens injured.
Transport strike On 9 December 2020, a group of transport workers blocked the South Pan-American Highway on the outskirts of Metropolitan Lima. The transport workers protested for "a fair universal pension" and "against the use and abuse of power" by the Urban Transportation Authority for Lima and Callao (ATU) and the supervisory body Sutran. The demonstrators burned tires on the road, preventing the passage of buses, cargo trucks and private vehicles. Hours after the blockade, the National Police dispersed the demonstrators.
Beginning on 13 March 2021, cargo transporters and interprovincial bus operators initiated a national strike by blocking the country's main highways. Among the transporters' demands were the elimination of the Selective Consumption Tax (ISC) applied to diesel, reduction in fuel prices and toll costs, suspension of the Morrope (Chiclayo) and Bayoyar (Piura) tolls, and a general amnesty for Sutrán fines, among others. On 16 March, interprovincial buses and trucks blocked the main entrance to Jorge Chávez International Airport. The following day, the Ombudsman's Office reported that the strike had spread to 21 regions of Peru. Traffic was restricted in the regions of Áncash, Apurímac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Callao, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huánuco, Junín, Ica, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martín, Tacna and Tumbes.
Prime Minister Violeta Bermúdez reported on 17 March that a commission chaired by the minister of transport and communications, Eduardo González Chávez, and composed of senior officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers had been engaged in dialogue regarding possible solutions to the measures adopted by the transporters. Representatives of the transport unions signed an agreement with the government committing themselves to reopen the highways, thus ending the indefinite strike.
Post-electoral protests