Peru's Boluarte seeks to broaden powers, change legislature amid protests

Peru's President Dina Boluarte delivers her address to the nation at the Legislative Palace, in Lima, Peru, July 28, 2023. Luis Ipazaguirre/Peru Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

LIMA (Reuters) -Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said on Friday she would request expanded legislative powers and is open to reshaping a historically unpopular Congress as protesters renewed their demands for her to stand down.

During an Independence Day speech in Lima, Boluarte said she would request legislative powers from Congress for 120 days to fight crime. She said she was open to reverting Congress to a two-chamber legislature from a single-chamber format.