MAP Forum

Peru’s congress has elected José María Balcázar, an octogenarian leftist lawmaker who has defended child marriage, as the country’s interim president ahead of general elections in April.

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Balcázar’s previous remarks expressing approval of sexual relations between girls aged 14 and male teachers have dominated Peruvian news coverage after his unexpected election.

In 2023, the former regional high court judge sparked controversy as the only lawmaker to criticise and vote against a measure to ban child marriage. He said the ban should be limited to those under 14 only.

“From the age of 14 onwards, there should be no impediment; everyone has sexual relations, [male] teachers with pupils, female teachers with pupils, and between pupils too. That’s fine,” he told journalists after the vote in congress. He later said his remarks had been taken out of context.

As the chair of the congressional education committee, he said it was common for teachers to have sex with their students, even saying the relations could be “beneficial” for the minor.

In a statement at the time, Peru’s women’s ministry strongly criticised his remarks as justifying “sexual violence against school-age children and adolescents, a painful and despicable situation that profoundly affects their overall wellbeing and fundamental rights”.

When questioned about those remarks in an interview for a national radio broadcaster on Thursday, Balcázar replied: “I will not change my mind, I am firm in my convictions.”