Maricarmen Alva
Member of Congress
Assumed office
26 July 2021
ConstituencyLima
President of Congress
In office
26 July 2021 – 26 July 2022
Vice President1st Vice President
Lady Camones
2nd Vice President
Enrique Wong
3rd Vice President
Patricia Chirinos
Preceded byMirtha Vásquez (acting)
Succeeded byLady Camones
Personal details
Born
María del Carmen Alva Prieto

(1967-02-24) 24 February 1967
Lima, Peru
Political partyPopular Action
Alma materUniversity of Lima
University of San Martín de Porres
OccupationLawyer, politician

María del Carmen Alva Prieto (born 24 February 1967) is a Peruvian lawyer and politician serving as the president of the Congress of the Republic of Peru since 26 July 2021 and a member of the Congress representing Lima. She is a member of Popular Action.[1][2]

Early life

Alva was born in Lima on 24 February 1967 and is a daughter Miguel Alva Orlandini, brother of a former congressman and historic leader of the Popular Action Javier Alva Orlandini.[3] Her grandfather, José Felipe Alva y Alva was senator for Cajamarca.[4]

She studied law at the University of Lima where she graduated as a lawyer.[5] She obtained a master's degree in Public Management at the Government Institute of the University of San Martín de Porres.

Career

She was a parliamentary coordinator and lawyer of the Legal Management of the Social Security Normalization Office. Additionally, she was a legal advisor at the Ministry of Labor and Promotion of Employment.[5]

For the 2006 general elections, she was a member of the Government Plan Commission on public management issues for the presidential candidacy of Valentín Paniagua. In those elections, Alva began her political career running for the Congress of the Republic for the Frente de Centro. However, she was not elected.[6]

In the 2010 Lima municipal elections, she was elected councilor of Santa María del Mar for Popular Action. And also deputy mayor, during the administration of Viviana Roda Scheuch, for the municipal period 2010-2014.[7]

In the 2020 parliamentary elections, she tried again to run for Congress for Popular Action, but was not elected again.[8]

In the 2021 general elections, Alva was elected congresswoman of the republic for Acción Popular, with 25,219 votes, for the 2021-2026 parliamentary term.[9] On July 26, 2021, Alva was elected president of the Congress of the Republic for the 2021-2022 legislative period.[10]

As a congresswoman, she defended bills perceived as unfavourable to workers, including the extension of the workday, provisions facilitating layoffs, or the rejection of social security projects. She fought against President Pedro Castillo, seeking his impeachment.[11]

Controversies

Alva caused controversy by verbally and physically assaulting Congresswoman Isabel Cortez of Juntos por el Perú during a session in parliament on 11 August 2022.[12] Cortez, a former city cleaner of indigenous descent, had moved from her seat during a discussion among some parliamentarians following statements made by Norma Yarrow of the far-right Renovación Popular party (an ally of Alva's party, Acción Popular) accusing the Castillo government of "selling itself for a plate of lentils", which caused an outcry and uproar among parliamentarians. Cortez approached the seat where Alva's colleague Wilson Soto was sitting, with several congressmen also around him.[12] When she came face to face with Alva, after a dialogue, the latter violently pulled and squeezed Cortez's arm and threatened her. After receiving strong condemnation for the incident, Alva had to apologise for her "inappropriate reaction", while the Cambio Democrático (Juntos por el Perú) party called for her to be sanctioned.[12]

On the same day, it was also revealed that Alva had racistly insulted Congressman Ilich López by calling him a "fucking Indian". The insult was due to Alva's failure to be elected President of Foreign Relations. In addition, López stated that Alva "[said] that he was going to destroy us and our families, that we were going to shed tears of blood", in reference to a group of parliamentarians from the Acción Popular party who were meeting secretly with President Castillo.[13] López also revealed that Alva was very upset at the meeting that took place for the vote, banging on the door of the room and swearing.[13]

Private life

She is married and has three sons.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "¡Ganó la lista 2! María del Carmen Alva es la nueva presidenta del Congreso para el periodo 2021-2022". El Peruano (in Spanish). 26 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "María del Carmen Alva: los datos que no conoces sobre la presidenta del Congreso de la República y sus vicepresidentes en la mesa directiva | Acción Popular | Lady Camones | Alianza para el Progreso | Enrique Wong | Podemos | Patricia Chirinos | Avanza País | EC Data | APTZ | POLITICA". El Comercio (in Spanish). 26 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "¿Quién es María del Carmen Alva, la flamante presidenta del Congreso?". lpderecho.pe (in Spanish). 26 July 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Javier Alva Orlandini" (PDF). congreso.gob.pe (in Spanish). 21 October 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  5. 1 2 "¿Quién es María del Carmen Alva, la nueva presidenta del Congreso?". Caretas (in Spanish). 26 July 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Infogob - Candidato al Congreso en 2006". infogob.jne.gob.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "Elecciones Regionales y Municipales del 2010 - Santa María del Mar". infogob.jne.gob.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Candidatos al Congreso en 2020 - Infogob". infogob.jne.gob.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "Congreso 2021-2026: JNE entregó las credenciales a los 130 nuevos legisladores". El Comercio (in Spanish). Lima. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Lista liderada por Maricarmen Alva fue elegida para dirigir la mesa directiva". Panamericana Televisión (in Spanish). 26 July 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  11. ↑ Isaac Bigio, Perú: un cuarto Gabinete para buscar aplacar a la derecha, 23 febrero, 2022
  12. 1 2 3 GrupoRPP (2022-08-11). "María del Carmen Alva jaloneó a Isabel Cortez durante incidentes en el Congreso". RPP (in Spanish).
  13. 1 2 "Congresista Darwin Espinoza: "María del Carmen Alva llamó 'indio de m...' a Ilich López y amenazó con destruir a 'Los Niños' y a sus familias" - Caretas Política". Caretas (in Spanish). 2022-08-11.
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