Balances and perspectives 30 years after the 1993 Constitution

Abstract

The Magna Carta of 1993 has been in force for three decades (1993-2023), amid controversies, institutional conflicts and government crises (2001, 2019, 2020, 2022). It has lasted longer than what many assumed would be an ephemeral text, in its beginnings tied to the political hegemony of its original promoters. The Constitution coincided with the pacification process that the country experienced (1990-2000), the monetary stability that the five-year period 1990-1995 produced and the outstanding economic growth that was experienced for nearly two decades (2000-2020), benefiting in its management to political actors who did not necessarily support the validity of the economic chapter of the 1993 Constitution (Toledo, García, Humala, Vizcarra, Sagastegui).
The 1993 Constitution, in the midst of challenges over its origin, acquired ratifying legality of exercise, since the Constitutional Court (TC) itself decided that the various alternatives for change proposed must necessarily be based on its articles (32 and 206), pointing out that The path for its reform or comprehensive change started from its own institutions (Congress, Constitutional Court, referendum, etc.), through the ruling of File No. 00014-2002 AI/TC, which gave scope and limits to the reformist or constituent path. The TC established the following criteria to conduct the debate on amendments: i) the 1993 Charter is the current Constitution; ii) the paths to its reforms are found in its own text; iii) challenges to it must come from its institutions; and, iv) there is no constituent legitimacy outside of its identity and essential content.