Martha Chávez
Encyclopedia
Martha Gladys Chávez Cossío de Ocampo (born January 12, 1953) is a Peru
vian politician and lawyer
who ran unsuccessfully for president in the 2006 presidential elections
on the Alliance for the Future
ticket.
's self-coup
on April 5, 1992, Martha Chávez was made a member of the Democratic Constitutional Congress
, which wrote a new constitution
during the Peruvian Constitutional Crisis of 1992
. Chávez personally introduced the clauses of the Peruvian Constitution that allowed Fujimori to run for a second term and suggested that she might attempt to abolish all term limits on the presidency. Chávez was the first woman to be elected President of the Congress of Peru
in 1995.
. From 1998 to 2004, she was secretary-general, from 2004 to 2011 chairwoman of the fujimorist
New Majority party.
case was making headlines in Peru. During the investigations and legal procedures, it was revealed that at least 10 people were kidnapped and killed by the Peruvian military. Chávez responded by introducing a law that prohibited the judicial powers from calling low-level military officials to testify in court cases. The resolution passed after opposition lawmakers walked out of Congress in protest.
The case was dismissed on the pretext that because the location of the bodies of the murdered students and professors was unknown, the courts had no way of knowing if they ever actually existed. Chávez stated that the students must have staged their own kidnapping. Soon afterwords, a journalist was anonymously sent a map of the locations of the bodies. After the unmarked graves were uncovered in the site provided on the map, Chávez responded by suggesting that the journalist be jailed because, by uncovering the graves, he had tampered with a crime scene.
, seniority would be used to determine the winner. The Constitutional Democratic Congress had recently come to a tie as to whether or not the Attorney General, Blanca Nelida Colán, could serve a second term despite a constitutional provision that explicitly mandated that the position be filled by the Prosecutor's Board. Because those who voted for Colán to fill the position had the most seniority, Chávez's bill effectively handed Colán the position. (The Democratic Constitutional Congress was working on a new Constitution at that time, and the Constitution of 1979 had been suspended by Fujimori). Colán was later imprisoned for corruption.
as leftist
terrorist-sympathizers.
did not win a majority of seats. She also said that she could not rule out a fourth election of Fujimori, despite the fact that the Constitution of Peru which was written in part by Chávez herself allows presidents to be elected no more than twice in a row. Indeed, Chávez had earlier promised that Fujimori would not run in the 2000 elections.
party.
While Chávez backed Fujimori's own bid for the presidency, she decided to run a separate campaign after the National Jury of Elections banned Fujimori's name from the ballot, citing a political and congressional ban on his participation in Peruvian politics
until 2011. Her running-mate in the election was Santiago Fujimori
, Alberto Fujimori's brother.
She was never expected to win in the election, and came in fourth place after receiving 7.4% of the vote.
that included the names of victims of government death squads that operated under Fujimori such as Grupo Colina
, Chávez said that she applauded the attack, and called the memorial "a garbage monument".
In the 2011 parliamentary election
she was elected to the Congress
on the Fuerza 2011
list, representing Lima
for the 2011-2016 term.
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian politician and lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who ran unsuccessfully for president in the 2006 presidential elections
Peruvian national election, 2006
The first round of the 2006 Peruvian national election was held on April 9, 2006 to elect the President of the Republic, two Vice-Presidents, 120 Members of Congress, and five Peruvian members of the Andean Parliament , for the 2006-2011 period.No single presidential ticket obtained more than half...
on the Alliance for the Future
Alliance for the Future (Peru)
Alliance for the Future was a Peruvian political alliance formed by pro-Fujimori parties Change 90 and New Majority for the 2006 national election...
ticket.
Education and professional career
From 1970 to 1976, Martha Chávez studied law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. From 1986 to 1988 she studied additionally for a Master's degree in international economic law. From 1984 to 1992, she worked as an associate lawyer for a Limean law firm. From 2006 to 2010 she lectured on a part-time base at the private University San Juan Bautista.Writing the Peruvian Constitution
After Alberto FujimoriAlberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
's self-coup
Self-coup
A self-coup or autocoup is a form of coup d'état that occurs when a country's leader, who has come to power through legal means, dissolves or renders powerless the national legislature and assumes extraordinary powers not granted under normal circumstances. Other measures taken may include...
on April 5, 1992, Martha Chávez was made a member of the Democratic Constitutional Congress
Democratic Constitutional Congress
The Democratic Constituent Congress was a Constituent Assembly created in Peru after the dissolution of Congress by President Alberto Fujimori in 1992...
, which wrote a new constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
during the Peruvian Constitutional Crisis of 1992
Peruvian Constitutional Crisis of 1992
The 1992 Peruvian constitutional crisis, also known as the Autogolpe of 1992 was a constitutional crisis that occurred in Peru in 1992, after President Alberto Fujimori dissolved the Congress of Peru and assumed full legislative powers.-Background:...
. Chávez personally introduced the clauses of the Peruvian Constitution that allowed Fujimori to run for a second term and suggested that she might attempt to abolish all term limits on the presidency. Chávez was the first woman to be elected President of the Congress of Peru
Congress of Peru
The Congress of the Republic of Peru or the National Congress of Peru is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru.Congress consists of 130 members of congress , who are elected for five year periods in office on a proportional representation basis...
in 1995.
Congresswoman and Party politics
Chávez was first elected to Congress in 1992. She was suspended from active duty as a congresswoman in June 2001 due to charges of corruptionPolitical corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
. From 1998 to 2004, she was secretary-general, from 2004 to 2011 chairwoman of the fujimorist
Fujimorism
right|thumb|[[Alberto Fujimori]], founder of FujimorismFujimorism or Fujimorismo is a political ideology in Peru, established by former president Alberto Fujimori.-History:...
New Majority party.
"La Cantuta" Investigation
One of her most controversial actions as congresswoman happened while the La Cantuta massacreLa Cantuta massacre
The La Cantuta massacre, in which a university professor and nine students from Lima's La Cantuta University were abducted by a military death squad and "disappeared", took place in Peru on 18 July 1992 during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori...
case was making headlines in Peru. During the investigations and legal procedures, it was revealed that at least 10 people were kidnapped and killed by the Peruvian military. Chávez responded by introducing a law that prohibited the judicial powers from calling low-level military officials to testify in court cases. The resolution passed after opposition lawmakers walked out of Congress in protest.
The case was dismissed on the pretext that because the location of the bodies of the murdered students and professors was unknown, the courts had no way of knowing if they ever actually existed. Chávez stated that the students must have staged their own kidnapping. Soon afterwords, a journalist was anonymously sent a map of the locations of the bodies. After the unmarked graves were uncovered in the site provided on the map, Chávez responded by suggesting that the journalist be jailed because, by uncovering the graves, he had tampered with a crime scene.
"Ley Colán"
Chávez introduced the controversial "Ley Colán" (Colán's Law) which mandates that in the event of a tie in the Democratic Constitutional CongressDemocratic Constitutional Congress
The Democratic Constituent Congress was a Constituent Assembly created in Peru after the dissolution of Congress by President Alberto Fujimori in 1992...
, seniority would be used to determine the winner. The Constitutional Democratic Congress had recently come to a tie as to whether or not the Attorney General, Blanca Nelida Colán, could serve a second term despite a constitutional provision that explicitly mandated that the position be filled by the Prosecutor's Board. Because those who voted for Colán to fill the position had the most seniority, Chávez's bill effectively handed Colán the position. (The Democratic Constitutional Congress was working on a new Constitution at that time, and the Constitution of 1979 had been suspended by Fujimori). Colán was later imprisoned for corruption.
Comments on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Chávez controversially characterized the judges on the Inter-American Court of Human RightsInter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States , which serves to uphold and...
as leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
terrorist-sympathizers.
2000 Presidential elections
During the 2000 elections in Peru, Chávez suggested that Fujimori would dissolve Congress if Peru 2000Peru 2000
Peru 2000 was a Right-wing, political party in Peru that fielded candidates in the 2000 elections in Peru. Alberto Fujimori and his political allies ran on the Peru 2000 ticket....
did not win a majority of seats. She also said that she could not rule out a fourth election of Fujimori, despite the fact that the Constitution of Peru which was written in part by Chávez herself allows presidents to be elected no more than twice in a row. Indeed, Chávez had earlier promised that Fujimori would not run in the 2000 elections.
Presidential Candidate
In addition to Alliance for the Future, Chávez is also affiliated with Alberto Fujimori's Sí CumpleSí Cumple
Sí Cumple is a political party of Peru founded by Alberto Fujimori as Vamos Vecino in 1998 in order for the party to participate in that year's municipal elections. In 2005 it assumed its current name....
party.
While Chávez backed Fujimori's own bid for the presidency, she decided to run a separate campaign after the National Jury of Elections banned Fujimori's name from the ballot, citing a political and congressional ban on his participation in Peruvian politics
Politics of Peru
Politics of the Republic of Peru takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Peru is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
until 2011. Her running-mate in the election was Santiago Fujimori
Santiago Fujimori
Santiago Inomoto Fujimori Fujimori is a Peruvian lawyer and politician. He is the younger brother of former President Alberto Fujimori. He is a Member of Congress representing Lima, after getting 22,992 votes in the 2006 election, in which he also ran unsuccessfully for First Vice-President on...
, Alberto Fujimori's brother.
She was never expected to win in the election, and came in fourth place after receiving 7.4% of the vote.
Post 2006 political career
Chávez remains a visible spokeswoman for the Alliance for the Future ticket and for Fujimorismo in general. After a band of Fujimori sympathizers held a guard at gunpoint and heavily damaged the "Ojo Que Llora" ("Crying Eye"), a memorial to the victims of Peru's Internal WarInternal conflict in Peru
It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people died in the internal conflict in Peru that started in 1980 and, although still ongoing, had greatly wound down by 2000. The principal actors in the war were the Shining Path , the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the government of Peru.A great...
that included the names of victims of government death squads that operated under Fujimori such as Grupo Colina
Grupo Colina
Grupo Colina was a paramilitary anti-communist death squad created in Peru that was active from 1990 until 1994, during the administration of Alberto Fujimori...
, Chávez said that she applauded the attack, and called the memorial "a garbage monument".
In the 2011 parliamentary election
Peruvian general election, 2011
The Peruvian general election, 2011 took place on 10 April 2011. Since no candidate received more than half of all valid votes, a second round was necessary to determine the winner. This second round took place on 5 June and determined the successor of Alan García, as well as 130 members of the...
she was elected to the Congress
Congress of Peru
The Congress of the Republic of Peru or the National Congress of Peru is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru.Congress consists of 130 members of congress , who are elected for five year periods in office on a proportional representation basis...
on the Fuerza 2011
Fuerza 2011
Fuerza 2011 is a right-wing Fujimorista political party in Peru. The party is led by Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori and former congresswoman.-Peruvian elections 2011:Force 2011 supports the candidacy of:...
list, representing Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
for the 2011-2016 term.