Peru's Congress must select three directors to complete the board of the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (BCRP), the country's central bank, which will sit alongside bank president Julio Velarde. Three other directors have already been designated by the government of Keiko Fujimori: Marylin Choy, Luis Palomino and Gustavo Yamada.
Under Article 86 of Peru's Constitution and the bank's Organic Law, the BCRP is governed by a board of seven members in total. The president of the republic, with the agreement of the Council of Ministers, appoints four of the seven directors, one of whom serves as bank president. Congress is responsible for electing the remaining three board members directly.
The 12 candidates
A list of 12 candidates competing for the three congressional seats on the board has been made public, organized by parliamentary bloc.
Renovación Popular put forward Juan José Marthans León, director of Economics at PAD-Escuela de Dirección de la Universidad de Piura.
Buen Gobierno nominated Javier Escobal, principal researcher at Grade, along with José A. Fernández-Baca and Santiago Roca.
Fuerza Popular proposed Diego Macera, director of the Instituto Peruano de Economía; Oswaldo Molina, associate professor at Universidad del Pacífico; and José R. Stok, professor emeritus at PAD.
Juntos por el Perú nominated Oscar Dancourt, a professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú; Kurt Burneo, a former Minister of Economy and Finance; and Raúl Machuca.
Ahora Nación put forward Alejandro Granda, while Obras nominated Gonzalo Alegría.
The pending matter with Velarde
For Velarde to formally take office as BCRP president, his designation must still be ratified by Congress. Once a report on his nomination is approved, the next step will be its evaluation by the full Senate, which must decide whether to ratify him in the post.
Under Senate rules, ratification requires a favorable vote from more than half of the legal number of senators. If approved, the decision must be formalized through a legislative resolution of the Senate and published on the institutional portal or in the official gazette, El Peruano.
