Elvia Barrios

Elvia Barrios Alvarado is a Peruvian prosecutor and judge. She is justice of the Supreme Court of Peru since 2011 and was its first woman president between 2021 and 2023.

Career Barrios was born in Huancavelica, Peru, and graduated from the National University of San Marcos alumni.

In 1984, she became an assistant public prosecutor in Tarapoto and Maynas, before being appointed provincial criminal prosecutor the following year and moving to Ayacucho. In territory controlled by the Shining Path terrorist group, Barrios was tasked with investigating massacres such as those in Puccayacu and Accomarca. From September 2005 until 2008, she was coordinator of the Anti-Corruption System and presided over the Fourth Anti-Corruption Criminal Chamber, hearing cases such as that against Vladimiro Montesinos. In her inaugural speech, Barrios stated that the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru had highlighted the weaknesses of the judicial system and pledged to tackle corruption, reduce delays in court proceedings and modernise the justice system through digital transformation, with the aim of restoring public confidence.

After the 2022 self-coup attempt by president Castillo, Barrios immediately rejected Castillo’s announcement that he would dissolve Congress and reorganise the justice system. She stated that the judiciary would not comply with any unconstitutional decision, condemned “all actions that undermine the constitutional order” and called for the rule of law to be upheld.