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Peruvian Ombudsman Faces Constitutional Complaint Over Comments on Closing Congress

Lawmakers have sent the complaint to the Comisión de Acusaciones Constitucionales to decide whether the Ombudsman should face removal plus a 10-year ban from public office.

Overview

  • A deputy from Juntos por el Perú filed a denuncia constitucional seeking the removal of Ombudsman Josué Gutiérrez and up to ten years of inhabilitation, citing alleged breaches of several constitutional articles and submitting the complaint to congressional offices.
  • The complaint responds to Gutiérrez’s public comments that a presidential dissolution of Congress could raise President Keiko Fujimori’s approval by 20 to 30 points and to his reference to the 1992 autogolpe as a political precedent.
  • Four Senate blocs publicly condemned the remarks as "incitaciones golpistas," arguing the Ombudsman exceeded his role defending rights and the constitutional order by evaluating political effects rather than legality.
  • Gutiérrez denied encouraging a parliamentary shutdown, saying his intent was to warn about public distrust in institutions and not to promote breaking the constitutional order.
  • The case is in its initial procedural stage and will enter the commission’s calificación phase, where members will decide whether to dismiss the complaint or to open a formal impeachment-style investigation that could remove and bar him from public office, a process that could heighten institutional polarization and test limits on the Defensoría del Pueblo’s political speech.