Background
Historically, the Peruvian Congress has been bicameral, comprising the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. From the Peruvian Independence (1821) to the present-day, unicameralism has only occurred in 1823, 1867 (in both cases for less than a year) and 1992, apart from the Congress dissolution from 5 April to date (it is presumed that it will remain this way until July 2026, when the new general elections are expected to be held, unless they are brought forward).
It should be highlighted that bicameralism was proposed in 2018 and was widely rejected by the citizens through a popular referendum. However, Congress has approved the constitutional reform as a result of two favorable votes in two consecutive legislatures, as regulated in the Constitution itself.
Return to bicameralism and economic impact
Under the approved reform, the Senate will be composed of at least 60 senators, and the Chamber of Deputies, of at least 130 deputies.
| Requirements |
| Deputies |
Senators |
| To be Peruvian by birth |
To be Peruvian by birth |
| To have reached 25 years of age at the time of nomination |
To have reached 45 years of age at the time of nomination or to have been a congressman or deputy before |
| To enjoy the right to vote |
To enjoy the right to vote |
The main benefit of returning to bicameralism, in principle and in theory, is the presence of new filters for better legislative work, to reduce the number of amendatory observed laws by the Executive Branch, and to work more effectively. After all, the Senate is seen as a "reflective upper house" in which day-to-day matters are not discussed (as they remain in the Chamber of Deputies).
This would mitigate the economic risks associated with bills that lacked due reflection and parliamentary debate, such as the law that suspended the collection of tolls on the national, departmental and local road network under concession (which was later declared unconstitutional by the Peruvian Constitutional Court), the gag law that sought to increase the years of imprisonment for the crimes of defamation and slander through various media, the law that allowed the withdrawal of contributions to the national pension funds for retirement, among others. Just between 2018 and 2021, six laws were approved due to insistence (ignoring the Executive Branch’s comments) and were later ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.
Likewise, the existence of two houses provides a greater deconcentration of power when it is necessary to request interpellations, express votes of no confidence, carry out elections, among other functions, in connection with members of important entities within the State. In addition, the Senate cannot be dissolved by the president, which, given the events of recent years, reduces national political instability.
| Deputies |
| Approving the normative proposals to be submitted to the Senate, in accordance with its regulations |
| Questioning and expressing votes of no confidence in connection with ministers of state |
| Granting or refusing motions of confidence regarding ministerial initiatives |
| Setting up research commissions to conduct research on any matter of public interest |
| Exercising the other responsibilities indicated in the Constitution and those that are natural to its functions |
| Senators |
| Approving, modifying or rejecting legislative proposals submitted by the Chamber of Deputies |
| Electing the ombudsman by the vote of two-thirds of the legal number of its members and, if necessary, removing them for serious misconduct by the same vote |
| Appointing the general comptroller of the Republic and, if necessary, removing them for serious misconduct |
| Electing the judges of the Constitutional Court by the vote of two-thirds of the legal number of its members |
| Electing three directors of the Central Reserve Bank and ratifying the appointment of its president by the absolute majority of the legal number of its members and removing them for serious misconduct by the same vote. |
| Ratifying the superintendent of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators |
| Authorizing the president of the Republic to leave the country |
| Consenting to the entry of foreign troops into the territory of the Republic, provided that it does not affect, in any way, national sovereignty |
| Reviewing the emergency decrees issued by the president of the Republic during the parliamentary interregnum and modifying them in accordance with its regulations |
| Exercising control over legislative decrees, emergency decrees, treaties and state of exception decrees |
| Approving the treaties mentioned in Section 56 prior to their ratification by the president of the Republic |
| Exercising the other responsibilities indicated in the Constitution and those that are natural to its functions |
On the other hand, it is important to bear in mind that there are incompatibilities between the functions of deputies and senators with other activities.
| The functions of deputies and senators are incompatible with[1]: |
| Exercising any other public function, except that of minister of state and participating, with prior Congress authorization, in extraordinary international commissions. Likewise, university teaching is also exempted. |
| Performing duties as manager, proxy, representative, agent, lawyer, majority shareholder or member of the board of directors of companies that have works, supply or provisioning contracts with the State, administer public revenues or provide public services. |
| Performing similar positions in companies that, during their term of office, obtain concessions from the State, as well as in companies in the financial credit system supervised by the Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators. |
When does the reform come into effect?
Bicameralism will come into effect in the next general elections, i.e., 2026 (in principle). This could change in the event of, for example, a presidential vacancy (her removal from office), since there is no vice president who can perform functions. In this scenario, the president of Congress would have to temporarily assume the presidency of the Republic and call general elections.
We trust that this information will be useful to you and your company. Should you require legal advice on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
1 Section 92 of the Constitutional Amendment Law.
Click here to access the Spanish version.
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