Peruvian senator Nora Bonifaz has demanded that Jose Gavidia explain his resignation from the Buen Gobierno caucus after citing unspecified ideological differences. Bonifaz questioned whether ideological disagreements could justify the move when the lawmaker had failed to identify any specific policies he opposed.
The confrontation followed Gavidia's decision to leave the parliamentary group in the Congress of Peru after he voted in favour of granting delegated legislative powers to the government. Gavidia confirmed his resignation by asserting that members of the bench hold different views, but Bonifaz insisted that such general assertions were insufficient to explain his departure.
Television appearances and disputed motives
Bonifaz stated that Gavidia had been given ample opportunity to explain his thinking to the public, pointing out that he had toured television studios across the country to defend his resignation. She said that while she had heard him claim ideological motives on television, he had never taken the trouble to articulate what those disputes were or which points in the party programme he no longer supported.
Bonifaz criticised what she described as a lack of transparency and said she could not understand the genuine reasons behind his withdrawal from the group. She called on Gavidia to present concrete arguments and demanded that he set out his ideological differences scientifically, one by one, so that the public and his colleagues could examine them.
The senator also highlighted a sharp shift in Gavidia's political stance, recalling that he had fully endorsed the group when he first joined the organisation. Bonifaz said he had entered the party speaking glowingly of its government plan and its core doctrine, arguing that his prior enthusiasm made his current, unexplained departure all the more questionable.
Delegated powers and congressional rules
The dispute inside the caucus erupted after Gavidia broke with party colleagues over delegated powers, known in Peru as facultades legislativas. Under the Peruvian constitution, parliament can temporarily grant the executive branch authority to enact specific measures by decree, typically in areas such as economic policy and national security. Such votes frequently test party discipline and trigger defections among congressional blocs.
The Partido del Buen Gobierno, or Good Government Party, is a registered Peruvian political party represented in the national legislature. In the Peruvian parliament, known as the Congreso del Peru, lawmakers organise into caucuses called bancadas. These blocs shape voting coalitions, distribute committee assignments, and define party policy on major legislative initiatives.
Bicameral parliament and political records
Peru restored its bicameral legislative system with a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies for the 2026 congressional term, marking the return of an upper house after more than three decades of a unicameral system. Bonifaz serves as a senator for Buen Gobierno in the reconstituted parliament, where party groupings operate under tight legislative margins.
Gavidia, a retired naval officer and former defence minister, joined the party and secured a seat in the legislature before splitting with the caucus over the vote on delegated powers. While Gavidia has maintained that his colleagues simply think differently from him, Bonifaz reiterated that the former caucus member still owes the public a clear and detailed explanation of his position.
