Peru's new congresswomen participate in a July 2006 seminar, co-sponsored by International IDEA, which gave impetus to the creation of the country's first Women’s Parliamentary Caucus. Ever since the government of President Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000) was revealed to be engaged in corrupt and authoritarian practices, the Peruvian state has sought to re-establish its credibility with the public. Important progress was made in this regard under the transition government of Valentin Paniagua (2000–2001) and the subsequent administration of Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), particularly in terms of the restoration of civil liberties, the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the achievement of economic growth and stability. The election of current President Alan García, who took office 28 July, 2006, marked a second consecutive democratic transition of power.
Nevertheless, general citizen dissatisfaction, and the ongoing political marginalization of major sections of the population demonstrate that Peru’s democratic system continues to face a number of challenges. The fragility of the national representation system was underscored by November 2006 elections. The political parties were able to win only three of Peru’s 25 regional governments, with the remainder going to localized political movements.
International IDEA's current activities in Peru are:
- Working with national political parties and local political movements to deepen their understanding of the political system and formulate proposals for reforms to the Political Parties Law based on consensus among the country’s political groups.
- Facilitating debate about the electoral code among electoral bodies, parties and politicians, and facilitating meetings between parties and members of Congress to discuss legislative proposals for the code.
- Providing technical assistance to legislators and advisers for discussion of legislative initiatives for poverty reduction and legislative reform, facilitating debate on issues related to legislative reform, and providing technical assistance on legislative mechanisms to civil society organizations.
- Helping parties build the capacity to formulate proposals for inclusion and for developing more democratic institutions.
- Reinforcing the capacities of women in political parties and women leaders of political parties through training for women political leaders, meetings with political parties on mechanisms for enhancing women’s participations, assessments of women’s participation in elections, reports on media and gender in elections, a manual on public policy with a gender focus, support for the Congressional Women’s Caucus, and events where women politicians from various countries can share ideas and experiences.
International IDEA began to sponsor activities in Peru during the early days of the transition government, and opened a national programme office in the country in 2002.
One of International IDEA’s first actions was to join forces with several national and international organizations and publish the “State of Democracy” report, outlining the challenges facing Peru’s democratic system. From 2002-04, International IDEA supported the creation and activities of a “Citizens for Good Governance” group focused on generating an analysis of the country’s principal democratic challenges and specific reform proposals.
International IDEA also supported the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, co-sponsoring an international seminar entitled “From Denial to Recognition,” which brought together experts and truth commission members from various countries around the world to discuss issues related to truth, justice and reconciliation, and releasing a publication on truth commission experiences in other countries and regions. With its Peruvian partner, Asociacion Civil Transparencia, International IDEA also sponsored meetings in seven cities around the country to gather local input from citizens for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work.
In 2002, International IDEA supported Peru’s then-fledgling National Accord process, organizing an international seminar on comparative experiences of national dialogue. This event made a vital contribution to the development and consolidation of the country’s own dialogue process.
Throughout its tenure in Peru, International IDEA has worked to ensure that policy debate on political parties and electoral reform were fully informed by a gender analysis to ensure that proposals contributed to increasing the levels of women’s political representation.
In 2002–2003, International IDEA – with local partner Asociacion Civil Transparencia – focused primarily on Peru’s first-ever political party law, facilitating an Inter-Party Roundtable to assist the process.
In March 2004, International IDEA and Transparencia initiated a project aimed at strengthening political party systems in the Andean countries through technical cooperation, dialogue and networks and applied research. A training programme was also developed with more than 1,270 political and civic leaders participating.
In August 2008, the second phase of this training programme began, with four parallel programmes for active members of national and regional parties nationwide.
This new phase involves longer-term programmes with virtual support, to accompany participants and reinforce what they have learned, using a virtual platform: www.evirtual.com.pe/idea.
The programme also promotes replication of the training to ensure a multiplier effect. In these sessions, participants train other active members of their political organizations.
In March 2009, the programmes are 50 per cent complete. There are 250 students, and more than 400 people have participated in the replication activities.
