Peruvian prosecutors are investigating a voting sex scandal in the country's parliament after uncovering an alleged prostitution ring inside the widely hated chamber.
The investigation began after hired hitmen fired more than 40 shots into a taxi carrying 27-year-old parliamentary lawyer Andrea Vidal in Lima earlier this month. She died from her injuries in the intensive care unit on Tuesday. A taxi driver was also killed in the attack.
The prosecutor's office then opened an investigation into Vidal's former boss, Jorge Torres Sarabia, the former chief legal and constitutional adviser to Congress. Sarabia is accused of sexual exploitation for allegedly running a prostitution ring in which young women were hired to have sex with MPs in exchange for votes. . Mr. Torres has denied any wrongdoing.
This latest scandal comes as trust and support for the country's parliament and President Dina Bolarte has plummeted to unprecedented levels, and as a crime wave of extortion and murder-for-hire sweeps the Andean nation.
Prosecutors allege that Vidal hired young women to replace Torres as secretaries and managers of various political blocs in the chamber.
“She would have worked to get votes from the congressmen,” said congressman Juan Burgos, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Committee.
“This clearly marks the end of all shameful acts in the exercise of executive power,” said independent lawmaker Sucel Paredes. “This shows the corruption within the political parties that have the power to hire staff in parliament today.”
He said the major political parties have “obtained absolute power, and part of power sharing includes sharing jobs within this organization.”
Álvaro Henzler, head of Peru's pro-democracy NGO Transparencia, said that in recent years, “the loss of the minimum ethical and moral standards that should be held by prestigious civil servants has been accelerating.''
“Our politicians, Congress and president, have reached record-low approval ratings,” he said.
He accused lawmakers of eroding democratic standards and passing laws that promote organized crime to protect themselves and their colleagues from corruption investigations.
“This reflects the dire state of our democracy,” Henzler said.
Bolarte – whose Approval rating reached record low 3% According to this month's poll, her home was raided in April amid suspicions surrounding her collection of Rolex watches and high-end jewelry, and she is being investigated on suspicion of unjust enrichment. She denies any wrongdoing.
