LIMA, Peru — Peru’s political landscape experienced another seismic shift on Tuesday as legislators voted to remove interim President José Jerí from office, plunging the nation into renewed instability just weeks before scheduled presidential elections.
The 39-year-old lawyer, who ascended to the presidency in October following the ouster of his predecessor Dina Boluarte, becomes Peru’s seventh presidential departure in under a decade. His removal triggers a constitutional process wherein Congress will select a replacement to steward the nation through April’s electoral process until the newly elected president assumes power on July 28.
Jerí’s downfall stems from corruption allegations that have rapidly eroded his political standing. Peru’s Attorney General initiated a preliminary investigation earlier this year examining charges of influence peddling connected to undisclosed meetings with Chinese business executives in December. One executive holds active government contracts while another faces separate investigations into illegal logging operations.
Although maintaining his innocence and characterizing the encounters as planning sessions for cultural festivities, Jerí faced mounting pressure from former congressional allies who cited the allegations as evidence of moral incapacity—a constitutional provision that has become a frequent mechanism for presidential removal in Peru’s volatile political environment.
This marks another manifestation of Peru’s unique constitutional clause that permits legislators to remove presidents deemed morally unfit for office. The broadly interpreted provision has granted Congress extraordinary leverage over the executive branch, contributing to the nation’s remarkable presidential turnover rate.
Despite the political chaos, Peru has maintained remarkable economic stability through orthodox fiscal policies. The nation boasts one of Latin America’s lowest public debt-to-GDP ratios at 32% for 2024, alongside sustained foreign investment in key sectors like mining and infrastructure.
Congress will convene Wednesday to select a new interim leader while presidential candidates including conservative businessman Rafael López Aliaga and former legislator Keiko Fujimori prepare for April’s election. Should no candidate secure majority support, a June runoff will determine Peru’s next democratically elected president.