Over the past week there has been a growing debate over the introduction of the death penalty for those who rape minors. The discussion was sparked by a terrible incident over the weekend and the issue has reached both Congress and the Ministry of Justice. Janet Sanchez, the interim president of the Commission on Women, from the party of Kuczynski, Peruanos Por el Kambio, said she was looking for options to make it possible to impose the death penalty for extreme cases.

She is backed by the Minister of Justice who declared that he was in agreement that this maximum measure could be used in some cases, in spite of Peru having signed six international treaties that ban the death penalty. Minister Mendoza made it clear that the proposal would only be able to proceed if the proper legal channels were found.

Many legislators across the political spectrum have declared that they are against this possible development, ranging from Marisa Glave of Nuevo Peru, to Kenji Fujimori form Fuerza Popular and even Alberto Belaunde from Peruanos Por el Kambio. Kenji Fujmori was reacting to what had initially been presented as one of the initiatives of his party, one that is supported by many of the members of Fuerza Popular.