Peru’s lawmakers swore in Congress chief Jose Jeri as the country’s new president less than an hour after unanimously voting to remove President Dina Boluarte.
The vote and swearing in ceremony took place shortly after midnight on Friday, only hours after political blocs from across the spectrum first presented motions for Boluarte’s removal on grounds of moral incapacity.
Jeri, who becomes Peru’s seventh president since 2016, signaled he would take a tough approach on rising insecurity, one of the major criticisms that was leveled against Boluarte. He addressed Congress wearing a sash of the national flag.
“The main enemy is out there on the streets: criminal gangs,” he said. “We must declare war on crime.”
The 38-year-old member of the conservative Somos Peru party, who became Congress president in July, joins the ranks of some of the world’s youngest heads of state.
Crowds had gathered outside Congress and the Ecuadorean embassy, where it was rumored Boluarte could seek asylum, some in a celebratory mood waving flags, dancing and playing instruments.
Shortly after Congress voted to remove her, Boluarte made an address at the presidential palace where she acknowledged that the same Congress that had sworn her in in late 2022 had now voted her removal, “with the implications this has for the stability of democracy in our country.”
“At every moment, I called for unity,” she said.
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum had late on Thursday summoned Boluarte to defend herself before Congress that same night. She never arrived, and lawmakers had sufficient votes to proceed with a rapid impeachment process.
She denies any wrongdoing.
Her removal continues a revolving door of leaders in the Andean nation. Three ex-leaders are currently behind bars.
Congress’ vote for Boluarte’s removal marks an about-turn after lawmakers rejected a series of prior motions for removal, none of which made it to the debate stage.
The latest push was marked by the participation of right-wing parties that have historically supported her, including Rafael Lopez’s Popular Renewal and Keiko Fujimori’s Popular Force. Both political heavyweights are expected to stand for president in the presidential election April 2026.
Boluarte came to power in December 2022 as her predecessor President Pedro Castillo, under whom she had herself served as vice president, was ousted and arrested after he attempted to dissolve Congress.
Castillo’s removal was met with months of widespread, deadly protests particularly in rural Andean and Indigenous communities, and rights groups have accused Boluarte’s government of using excessive force to repress the protests.
She also became embroiled in allegations of illicit enrichment involving undeclared assets and Rolex watches. In July, she decided to double her salary.
(Reuters)