(CNN Spanish) - In an almost empty Congress, the President of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, delivered his last message for the anniversary of the independence of Peru, as is the custom every July 28. The president will hand over power on this same date of the coming year to whoever is elected on April 11 in the general elections to be held in the country.
Ministers who accompanied the president during his message to the nation were assigned places with the required distance. Of the 130 congressmen, only the president of the Legislative Power and the parliamentary spokesmen were present.
At the beginning of his message, Vizcarra asked to keep a minute of silence for the Peruvians killed during the pandemic who, according to official figures, exceed 18 thousand: "I cannot overlook that this anniversary finds the country in a difficult, challenging circumstance, like many that our country has gone through throughout its history. But we must be clear that Peru has always come out ahead, and this time it will not be the exception, ”he said.
After summarizing the measures taken by his government during the pandemic, such as the quarantine, which lasted 135 days, which, he said, "has helped prevent a catastrophe of unimaginable consequences," the president announced other decisions taken by his government:
1. Approve an orphan pension of 200 soles per month (about US $ 57) for children who lost their parents during the pandemic, until they reach the age of majority.
2. Bonus of 760 soles (US $ 271) for 8.5 million households of the more than 9 million that, according to government figures, exist in Peru. This bonus would be added to others that were distributed to the population in what, according to Vizcarra, constituted "one of the most aggressive subsidy policies in the entire region." The president also announced "for those who are on the front lines, health professionals, police and the military" bonuses in recognition of their work.
3. What, in his opinion, is “the largest health investment in history in the General Budget of the Republic of 2021” will be approved. The amount amounts to about 20 billion soles (US $ 5.7 billion).
Regarding deaths from covid-19 in Peru, Vizcarra noted: “No compatriot who has died as a result of Covid-19 should be left off the official record. The least the State can do is make the figures transparent, because it is the balance of the pandemic. There is nothing that cover. Therefore, unlike other countries that do the count at the end of the disease, Peru is doing it as it faces the virus. ” Days before, the president said that, after an investigation, a commission formed at his request, added 3,688 deaths from covid-19 in addition to the more than 13,000 that had been officially recorded so far.