Recent events have opened a window of opportunity for political and economic reform. Popular unrest and corruption scandals prompted Fujimori to resign. A new president and congress will be elected in the first half of 2001. Shaken up by the pervasive corruption that has surfaced since July 2000, Peruvians are demanding change. Some political parties are calling for a reversal of pro-market reforms in order to distance themselves from Fujimori-era policies. Hence, Instituto APOYO intends to seize the opportunity to raise public awareness about the need for continued reforms and promote reform by developing a legislative advisory program in the post-election 2001 period when politicians are more receptive to new proposals. The project is designed to enhance democracy by fostering interactive communication between Congress, experts and civil society, and helping Congress make informed decisions resulting in a responsive, pro-reform economic framework.

In this project, a team of economists and lawyers from the Instituto APOYO will prepare an overall, pro-market economic package that indicates topics essential for reform. From this list, newly elected parliamentarians will select five subjects. The APOYO team will then prepare one informative bulletin per topic. Each bulletin will contain concrete and precise information supported by in-depth research, and consultations and interviews with specialists and private sector leaders. The bulletins will be disseminated via email, posted on a Web site designed for the project, distributed to targeted email lists and delivered in printed form to members of Congress and civil society. The email and Web site will also provide avenues of direct communication between APOYO staff and parliamentarians and members of civil society, and will offer everyone the opportunity to access project information and analyses and to offer their feedback on economic reform issues. APOYO will also distribute printed copies of the analyses to parliamentarians, the business community, the press, academia, and members of civil society. Each bulletin will be presented to parliamentarians, business leaders and policy experts in a special seminar. The seminars will be designed to obtain congressional feedback on each particular issue. Seminar discussions will also reveal the policy stances of individual congress members providing the basis for APOYO’s strategy to garner sufficient political support for legislative changes.