Carlos Ricardo Bruce Montes de Oca (born 24 February 1957) is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian politician and a former Congressman, representing

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

from 2006 until 2019, when his term ended with the dissolution of the Congress by

Martín Vizcarra Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020. Vizcarra previously served as Governor of the Department of Moquegua (2011–2014), First Vice P ...

in 2019.

Early life and education

Son of Eduardo José Bruce Noronha and Alicia Montes de Oca Flores, Bruce studied at the Immaculate Heart School and then at the Santa María Marianistas School. Once he graduated, he entered the

University of Lima The University of Lima ( es, Universidad de Lima) is a private nonprofit university in Lima, Peru. It was founded in 1962 and it is considered one of the most prestigious and remembered universities in Peru. The decision to create the Universi ...

to study Economics, later he began to work in the construction, metalworking, fishery and foreign trade sectors. He has been President of the Association of Exporters of Peru (ADEX), President of the Latin American Federation of Exporters (FLADEX), President of the Business Anti-Drug Trafficking Coalition (CEAD), Vice President of the International Chamber of Commerce (CCI-Peru), Director of the National Confederation of Private Business Institutions (CONFIEP) and member of the Board of Directors of the Commission for the Promotion of Exporters (PROMPEX). He has also served as an international consultant, member of the Editorial Board of Diario Síntesis and professor at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Lima. He was also President of FONCODES, of the "Special Social Productive To Work Program", of the "Investment Fund for the Development of Ancash", of the "Commission for the Prioritization of Investments of the Department of Pasco" (CESPPASCO), of the "Fondo Mi Housing "and Director of FONAFE.

Political career

Early political career

In early 2000 he joined the party

We Are Peru In Modern English, ''we'' is a plural, first-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word forms: * ''we'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''us'' and ': the accusative (objective; ...

of Lima's charismatic mayor Alberto Andrade, in which he left later in the same year. In 2001, he became the campaign manager for

Possible Peru Possible Peru ( es, Perú Posible) was a Peruvian political party. It was founded in 1994 by Alejandro Toledo with the original name of Possible Country ( es, País Posible). History Possible Peru has its roots in an earlier political party, P ...

(PP) of successful presidential candidate

Alejandro Toledo Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (; born 28 March 1946) is a Peruvian politician who served President of Peru, from 2001 to 2006. He gained international prominence after leading the opposition against president Alberto Fujimori, who held ...

. In President Toledo's administration, Bruce held different important posts: Minister of the Presidency from mid-2001 to mid-2002 and Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation from July 2002 through October 2005. From 2002 to 2005 he was a General secretary of PP party. He was the candidate for Second Vice President on the party's ticket in the 2006 general election, but the candidacy was withdrawn following disputes between presidential candidate Rafael Belaúnde Aubry and the party's core. Since September 2005 he has been a member of the party's national political commission.

Congressman

In 2006, Bruce was elected to the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

representing

for the 2006-2011 term. From 2010 to 2011 he managed the campaign of Toledo for a second non-consecutive presidential term, endorsed by

Possible Peru Alliance The Possible Peru Electoral Alliance ( es, Alianza Electoral Perú Posible) was an electoral alliance in Peru formed for the 2011 general election, dominated by the eponymous party Possible Peru and led by presidential candidate and ex-president ...

with himself being Toledo's running mate as candidate for First vice president. Toledo's presidential bid was unsuccessful, but Carlos Bruce was re-elected Congressman for another 5-year term. On July 29, 2011, he was accused of dishonoring his political party and has been suspended from Possible Peru, being independent in congress. In 2016, he was re-elected for a third term under the

Peruvians for Change Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...

party of

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

for another 5-year term, but his term was cut short by the dissolution of the Congress by

in 2019. On 11 March 2019, he was sworn-in for the third time to the position of Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation in the new Council of Ministers of

, presided by

Salvador del Solar Salvador Alejandro Jorge del Solar Labarthe (; born 1 May 1970) is a Peruvian actor, director and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Peru from March to September 2019, in President Martín Vizcarra's administration. Born in Lima, from ...

. Together with Bruce, seven other new ministers were sworn in, forming a joint cabinet. He lasted 34 days in office. On April 14, 2019, he was forced to resign due to open investigations filed by the Prosecutor of the Nation Zoraida Ávalos against him and four other congressmen: Cesar Vásquez, José Palma Mendoza, Clemente Flores Vílchez and Javier Velásquez Quesquén for alleged links to the criminal organization "Los temerarios del crimen" headed by the ex-mayor of

Chiclayo Chiclayo (; qu, Chiklayu) is the principal city of the Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located inland from the Pacific coast and from the nation's capital, Lima. Founded by Spanish explorers as "Santa María de los Valles de Chicl ...

David Cornejo.

Post-congressional career

For the 2021 general election, Bruce joined

Keiko Fujimori Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi (; ja, 藤森恵子, Fujimori Keiko; born 25 May 1975) is a Peruvian politician. Fujimori is the eldest daughter of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori and Susana Higuchi. From August 1994 to November 200 ...

's technical team as an independent. Joining the Go on Country - Social Integration Party in early 2022, Bruce is currently running for mayor of the

Santiago de Surco Santiago de Surco, commonly known simply as Surco, is a district of Lima, Peru. It is bordered on the north with the district of Ate Vitarte and La Molina; on the east with San Juan de Miraflores, on the west with San Borja, Surquillo, Mirafl ...

district of

at the 2022 municipal elections.

Personal life

Bruce, following his introduction of a

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

s bill to Congress and the subsequent questioning of his sexual orientation, came out as gay on 19 May 2014. That made him the first openly gay member of the Congress in Peru.

Controversies

On June 5, 2019, Bruce launched a controversy with comments that were described as racist towards President Martín Vizcarra. The official parliamentarian assured that Moquegua was only a small region and that Vizcarra had been included in the presidential roster due to the need to require a provincial to represent the interior of the country.

References

External links

Official Congressional SiteResume on the National Electoral Committee (JNE) site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Carlos Living people Peruvian people of Scottish descent Possible Peru politicians Members of the Congress of the Republic of Peru 1957 births Politicians from Lima Gay politicians University of Lima alumni Peruvians for Change politicians We Are Peru politicians Fujimorista politicians Government ministers of Peru Peruvian LGBT politicians Peruvian gay men LGBT legislators 21st-century Peruvian LGBT people