What happened on April 5, 1992 and what caused Fujimori's self-coup?

Latest news from Peru. The 2022 transport strike continues to affect the activities of Peruvians, who have suffered by the seizure of roads and the rise in prices of the basic family basket. In the midst of this uncertainty, although a dialogue committee was sent to reach an agreement with the protesters, President Pedro Castillo appeared in television in a surprising way to provide a message to the nation about the measures taken by his government to prevent further regrettable incidents in the coming days. The announcement of the curfew and social immobilization coincided with the date on which Alberto Fujimori's self-coup is remembered, a fact that marked the history of democracy in our country.

WHAT HAPPENED ON APRIL 5, 1992?

A report by the IACHR on the case states that on Sunday, April 5, 1992, there was a so-called self-coup in Peru, when the current president, Alberto Fujimori Fujimori, through Decree-Law No. 25,418, called the Bases Law of the Government of Emergency and National Reconstruction, dissolved the National Congress, the Tribunal of Constitutional Guarantees and the National Council of the Judiciary.

According to this official ruling, the president began with his project to organize the judiciary, the Court of Constitutional Guarantees, the National Council of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office, with the aim of “converting them into democratic institutions in the service of the pacification of the country, allowing access to the great majorities to the proper administration of justice, definitively eradicating the corruption that prevails in the judiciary, and striving to avoid impunity for crimes perpetrated by terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime”.

This first event only marked the beginning of the actions that Fujimori would take at the time of his Government. On April 9, a Decree of Law was made official, published in the newspaper El Peruano, which specifies the dismissal of 13 members of the Supreme Court - without giving any kind of motivation or legal cause - and the administration of justice was paralyzed, temporarily suspending the judicial office, thus forcibly prohibiting the entry of judges, officials and litigants to the Palace of Justice.

Already by the 25th of the same month, the appointment of 13 provisional members of the Supreme Court was made official, and three days later the amparo action aimed at challenging the effects of the application of Decree-Laws Nos. 25,423, 25,422 and 25,446 was established, depriving the dismissed Supreme Members of that appeal.

Two days later, Alberto Fujimori issued a new Decree-Law (No. 25,454) prohibiting the relevant authorities from admitting any type of procedure related to amparo actions related to the case, taking into account that this remedy is established both in the aforementioned law and in article 295 of the Political Constitution of Peru.

IN THE MEMORY OF PERUVIANS

With the support of the Armed Forces, the leader of Fujimorism closed the Congress, preventing any parliamentarian from attempting to enter the establishment.

The main television channels cut their broadcasts to show the message to the nation of Alberto Fujimori, who announced the dissolution of Congress, as part of the interventions to the justice joints in Peru.

“Temporarily dissolving the Congress of the Republic, until the approval of a new organizational structure of the legislative branch, which will be approved by a national plebiscite”, was the message that many Peruvians keep intact in their memory.

ALBERTO FUJIMORI TODAY

The Constitutional Court (TC) published the ruling reinstating the pardon to former President Alberto Fujimori - overturned by a Supreme Court ruling in 2018 - and orders his immediate release from Barbadillo prison. The decision was taken on Thursday, March 18, in a vote of 3 to 3.

Attorney Carlos Rivera, from the Institute of Legal Defense (IDL) recalled that the Inter-American Court established, in 2018, that pardons for human rights violators were prohibited and that exceptionally they could be granted humanitarian pardon, but that it was not only enough for them to comply with internal procedures but also to establish a compliance standard.