Peruvian regional officials face stalled works, budget overruns and election hurdles

In the Ayacucho province, the municipalities of Pacaycasa and Quinua show starkly different budget execution rates. Pacaycasa has spent 74.5% of its allocated funds, yet key transport projects such as two bridges remain unfunded, while Quinua has executed only 41% of its budget and has not spent any of the four million soles earmarked for health improvements.

Former Arequipa governor Elmer Cáceres Llica, now a regional candidate, defended the suspension of major hospital and road projects, attributing delays to his short tenure and the COVID‑19 pandemic, and denied any collusion in the “Los Hijos del Cóndor” case. He also criticized the transfer of the Majes Siguas project to the national government.

A audit of a citizen‑security project in Juliaca revealed costs that exceeded the original budget by nearly two million soles, with six extensions, three stoppages, and numerous construction defects. The audit also noted that the resident engineer was not licensed.

The regional electoral board rejected Acción Popular’s candidate list for La Libertad because it failed to meet the required minimum representation of campesino communities in the provinces of Pataz and Sánchez Carrión.

Former minister Juan Manuel Carrasco has entered the race for the governorship of Lambayeque, despite ongoing criminal investigations for alleged misuse of office, money‑laundering and other offenses, reigniting debate over the judicial backgrounds of regional candidates.