The leader of the Peruvian Congress, José Jerí, was sworn in early Friday as the interim president of Peru.
Courtesy | Boluarte’s dismissal added a new chapter to political instability
The leader of the Peruvian Congress, José Jerí, was sworn in early Friday morning as the interim president of Peru after the Legislature dismissed unpopular president Dina Boluarte for “permanent moral incapacity” in the midst of a crisis driven by rising crime.
“I will defend the national sovereignty, the physical and moral integrity of our country,” said Jerí, a 38-year-old lawyer, who stated that he will govern until July 28, 2026, when he will hand over power to the next head of state who will be elected in the general elections in April.
The dismissal of Boluarte added a new chapter to the political instability that Peru has been experiencing since 2018 and in which the South American country has added seven presidents, including the new president Jerí. Three were removed by Parliament, two resigned due to the possibility of being removed and only one interim president finished his term.
Lawmakers had voted Thursday night to accept four requests for Boluarte’s removal, citing his government’s inability to curb crime. They exceeded the minimum of 56 votes required for each request, which opened the door to voting on the vacancy in the 130-member unicameral Congress.
Boluarte did not show up
The legislators then requested that Boluarte appear before them shortly before midnight to defend himself, but when he did not appear, they immediately voted in favor of his dismissal. In a short time, 124 legislators voted in favor of the removal of the 63-year-old president.
Boluarte came to power in December 2022 after succeeding the then president Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), of whom she was vice president. That day Castillo tried to dissolve Parliament, but the Legislature counterattacked and removed him from office for “moral incapacity.” Castillo is provisionally detained while he is tried on accusations of rebellion and investigated for alleged corruption charges.
Boluarte’s dismissal occurs six months before the elections scheduled for April 12, 2026 where a new president, 130 deputies and 60 senators will be elected.
Since the beginning of her mandate, eight legislative vacancy requests had been presented against the president, but none had succeeded due to the protection she had from the main legislative groups. Boluarte did not have its own legislative bench.
Political crisis
But this time the political crisis worsened and the legislative support that the president once had came to an end, after on Wednesday night there was an armed attack against one of the most popular cumbia groups in Peru called Agua Marina, which left five people wounded by gunshots. The attack was considered another example of the uncontrollable rise in crime—especially murders and extortion—that the Boluarte government failed to stop.
Boluarte on Wednesday attributed the situation in part to immigrants living in the country without documents.
“This crime has been brewing for decades and has been reinforced by illegal immigration, which previous governments have failed to combat,” he declared during a military ceremony. “Instead, they have opened the doors of our borders and allowed criminals to enter everywhere… without any restrictions.”
The first female president of Peru was the most unpopular head of state since 1980, according to data from various pollsters.
Criminality
The rise in murders and extortions that mainly affects working class citizens generated harsh criticism of the president, in a country where in 2024 there were 2,082 murders, the highest annual figure since 2017 when there were only 676 homicides, according to official data. Meanwhile, complaints of extortion also skyrocketed during Boluarte’s administration when they went from 16,333 in 2022 to 22,348 in 2024.
For this reason, the main legislative groups that protected Boluarte in her government of two years and 10 months announced on Thursday that they were going to vote to remove her. The Fuerza Popular party, of politician Keiko Fujimori; Alliance for Progress, by Governor César Acuña; and Renovación Popular, of Lima Mayor Rafael López-Aliaga, criticized his lack of initiative to confront crime.
Experts indicated that both Fujimori, Acuña and López-Aliaga intend to run in the 2026 presidential elections.
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