The challenge of choosing the new president of the Congress 2024-2025

The parliamentary benches have begun negotiations in view of the 2024-2025 Directing Board elections, a process that will culminate in July with the election of the new President of Congress. Although everything indicates that the right-wing bloc will maintain legislative control, there is uncertainty about which political group will lead the list. While logic suggests that Fuerza Popular may be favored as the largest minority, parliamentary history has shown us that Congress rarely follows a predictable path. In this context, the dilemma for Fuerza Popular revolves around assessing whether it would be wise to assume the presidency of Congress in the midst of an election season. This position involves carrying the liabilities of the 130 parliamentarians and facing the weekly scandals that arise in the hemicycle, which could detract from support in the 2026 elections, where an increase in populist sentiments in Parliament is expected. Therefore, it is necessary to have a technical profile in the presidency that can curb the outlandish demands that arise in the Board of Spokespersons and prevent informal and illegal agendas from being introduced into legislative debate. Amidst this scenario, Fuerza Popular has technical profiles like Patricia Juárez, but also figures more inclined to anti-technical issues like Arturo Alegría and Héctor Ventura. There is the possibility that Alianza para el Progreso (APP) will nominate José Luis Elías Ávalos, a congressman who entered Parliament with Podemos Perú and who in previous periods represented Fuerza Popular, which has raised concerns given the recent turbulent history of the presidency of Congress. Experience has shown that granting the presidency of Congress to someone without political experience can result in infiltrated agendas, as happened with José Williams and Alejandro Soto. Therefore, it is crucial that the election of the new President of Congress be carefully considered, as this figure will be fundamental not only to curb the populist agenda, but also to organize legislative work and establish a clear agenda of rules facing the 2026 elections or even in the event of assuming the presidency of the Republic, a topic that has resurfaced in the "Lost Steps" of Congress with references to a possible vacancy. Ultimately, the election of the 2024-2025 Directing Board presents a crucial challenge for the Peruvian Congress, which must carefully evaluate the profiles of the candidates and consider not only the balance of political forces, but also the leadership capacity and technical suitability of the person who will assume the presidency. The country's political future will depend to a large extent on this election and on the ability of the new President of Congress to guide the institution in a moment of great complexity and challenges.