Peru’s Congress on Tuesday voted to remove interim President José Jerí from office, triggering a fresh wave of political instability just weeks before the nation’s April presidential election.
Jerí was Peru’s seventh president in lower than a decade, and can now get replaced by a member of Congress, who can be expected to steer the country in the course of the election and until the nation’s newly elected president is sworn in on July 28.
How José Jerí became Peru’s president
Jerí, a 39-year-old lawyer, was elected to Peru’s Congress in 2021 for Somos Peru, a small conservative party.
He was the pinnacle of Peru’s Congress in October, when lawmakers voted to remove then President Dina Boluarte from office because the nation faced increasing rates of violent crime.
Following Boluarte’s removal, Jerí was elected by his peers because the nation’s interim president, with the expectation that he would stay in office until July, when a brand new presidential term begins. But his mandate was cut short as corruption allegations surfaced against him and Congress grew impatient together with his leadership.
The costs against Jerí
Jerí is facing a preliminary investigation for corruption and influence peddling launched by Peru’s Attorney General’s office earlier this 12 months.
The costs stem from a series of undisclosed meetings with two Chinese businessmen in December. One in all those businessmen holds energetic government contracts, while the opposite is under investigation for alleged involvement in an illegal logging operation.
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Jerí has denied wrongdoing. He said he met the executives to prepare a Peruvian-Chinese festivity, but his opponents have accused him of corruption.
While Jerí still hasn’t been found guilty of corruption, his former colleagues in Congress cited the allegations as one in every of the explanations to remove him, arguing that Jerí had turn out to be unfit to execute his presidential duties.
A clause in Peru’s structure enables legislators to remove presidents who’re found to be “morally incapable” of conducting their duties.
This clause has given legislators great leverage over Peru’s executive branch, which has also struggled lately to construct congressional majorities.
The moral incapacity clause has been interpreted widely by legislators who’ve used it, together with corruption allegations, to remove presidents that not suit the interests of the nation’s political parties.
Peru has had seven presidents over the past decade — with only two of those elected by a well-liked vote. The others have been vice presidents who’ve stepped in for deposed presidents, and members of Congress who’ve been chosen by their peers to steer the South American nation.’
Impact of this revolving door
Despite the revolving door of presidents, Peru’s economy has been stable over the past decade, with governments sticking to orthodox economic policies that include modest fiscal spending.
The South American nation had a public debt to gross domestic product ratio of 32% in 2024, one in every of the bottom in Latin America, and has welcomed foreign investment in sectors like mining and infrastructure.
Nevertheless, observers have noted that the nation’s increasingly powerful Congress has also passed laws lately that threatens the independence of Peru’s judiciary.
Legislators will convene on Wednesday to elect a brand new interim president, who can be expected to remain in office until July and hand over power to the winner of the nation’s presidential elections, that are scheduled for April 12.
Rafael López Aliaga, a conservative businessman and former mayor of Lima is currently leading a crowded field of candidates that also includes former legislator Keiko Fujimori, a 3 time presidential candidate whose father was the nation’s president within the Nineteen Nineties.
If no candidate gets greater than 50% of the votes within the April election, there can be a runoff in June between the highest two contenders.
© 2026 The Canadian Press