Dina Boluarte has been ousted by Peruvian legislators following widespread public discontent regarding the administration’s inability to control violent crime and its involvement in corruption allegations.
Peru’s Congress has decisively impeached President Dina Boluarte, promptly appointing congressional leader Jose Jeri as her successor amidst a wave of public fury concerning rising crime and claims of corruption.
On Friday morning, legislators cast a unanimous 124-0 vote to remove Boluarte, citing a constitutional provision of “permanent moral incapacity” to declare the presidential office vacant.
Her removal occurred after several months of escalating political scrutiny and ongoing criminal probes. The 63-year-old Boluarte’s public approval plummeted to a mere 2% amid a deluge of accusations, such as bribery and accountability for violent suppression of demonstrations, all of which she refuted.
In accordance with the constitution, congressional president Jose Jeri Ore, aged 38, will serve as interim head of state and is mandated to schedule new elections. Jeri, a member of the conservative Somos Peru party who assumed leadership of Congress in July, is now among the world’s youngest national leaders.
Boluarte assumed office as Peru’s first female president in 2022, succeeding Pedro Castillo, who was impeached and apprehended for attempting to disband Congress and govern through executive decree.
Nonetheless, her presidency was overshadowed by increasing controversies, notably the security forces’ response to protests subsequent to Castillo’s arrest, which led to over 60 fatalities.
Furthermore, she confronted distinct allegations of unlawful enrichment, stemming from claims of accepting Rolex watches and other jewelry as bribes, and for utilizing a presidential vehicle to convey a politician evading arrest.
Critics also charged her with deserting her position in 2023 to have cosmetic nose surgery, given her failure to formally delegate her authority during her nearly two-week absence, as mandated by legal statutes. Boluarte asserted the procedure was medically necessary, a statement purportedly gainsaid by the surgeon, who characterized it as exclusively aesthetic.
Her dismissal on Friday was significantly propelled by widespread public outrage concerning escalating crime rates. National police data indicates a dramatic increase in extortion incidents, rising from a few hundred per year in 2017 to more than 2,000 monthly this year. This violence has proven lethal, leading to the deaths of numerous bus drivers and businesses being targeted with explosives, which necessitated a state of emergency declaration in Lima earlier this year.