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Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra was removed from office after a vote in Congress on Monday in the second impeachment he faced in less than two months. Several MPs who voted to remove him from office on suspicion of having received a bribe face corruption charges.
Just over eight months after completing his term, Vizcarra had a fate similar to that of his predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczysnki, who failed to complete his term and was forced to resign under pressure from Parliament. The opposition managed to reach 105 votes out of 130, well above the margin of 87 votes needed to remove him from power, claiming “permanent moral incapacity.” Four deputies abstained and 19 voted in favor of acquittal.
Vizcarra was accused of receiving bribes for public works contracts in 2014, when he was governor of the southern region of Moquegua. The president was accused of receiving 2.3 million soles (R $ 3.45 million) in bribes from companies that were building infrastructure projects. He denies receiving bribes and reiterated his willingness to cooperate with the prosecutors investigating the case.
The president’s impeachment request was presented on October 20 by 27 legislators after the press released the testimony of prosecutors on the alleged payment of bribes to Vizcarra by the construction company Obrainsa and its Italian partner Astaldi, to change of the tender for a work. Irrigation system called Lomas de Ilo. The prosecutor Germán Juárez, from the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Peruvian Lava Jato Flame, was in charge of the investigation, which is part of the case called Clube da Construção, in which companies -among them Odebrecht- acted as a cartel and distributed tenders for works public between 2002 and 2016.
The president’s position has weakened throughout the day, after several local media outlets published fragments of text messages between Vizcarra and a former minister in which they appear to be discussing a meeting with executives of construction companies who allegedly paid him bribes. . Reports say the text messages also suggest that the president may have had contact with the opposition during an impeachment attempt by his predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in 2018, something he denied. In a note from his press office, Vizcarra said the reports did not show anything illegal and that they aim to undermine public confidence in his government.
The accusations did not diminish the popularity of the 57-year-old former president, without a party and without a legislative bench, who assumed power after the resignation of Kuczynski, who was vice president, on March 23, 2018, and promoted a series. anti-corruption reforms. Polls show that 75% of Peruvians wanted the government to continue, while Congress faces 59% disapproval.
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As in the previous trial, no ideological issues were discussed, since the president and most of the deputies are from the center right. The management of Peru’s main problems, such as the economic recession and the coronavirus pandemic, was also not discussed. Everything pointed to a simple struggle for power and that the accusations against Vizcarra would be a simple pretext. Many deputies who wanted to remove Vizcarra also face corruption accusations: 68, he said.
Congress admitted to withdrawing him last week by 60 votes in favor, 40 against and 18 abstentions, just five months before the presidential and legislative elections. The president’s term would end on July 28, 2021, and Vizcarra claims rival parliamentarians removed him from office to postpone the April 2021 elections and thus extend his term in Congress. In the previous lawsuit, he was accused of pressuring two government palace officials to lie about a disputed contract with a singer.
Since there is no vice president, the president of Congress, the opposition Manuel Merino, an agronomist, a discreet politician and practically unknown to Peruvians, will assume power with the removal of Vizcarra. He will be the third president of Peru since 2016, reflecting the country’s institutional weakness. The opening ceremony should take place tomorrow at 5pm local time. The Constitution states that it must call elections “immediately” but does not offer a deadline for doing so.
Vizcarra defended himself personally, intervening before the plenary session for 51 minutes, without his lawyer intervening. Vizcarra wondered if the dozens of parliamentarians who have cases under investigation in the Public Ministry should also resign, and questioned the interests that opponents would have.
– I strongly and categorically reject these accusations. I did not receive any bribes – said Vizcarra – I am sad because, although most of us have Peru as a priority, we have not been able to join forces.
Last Sunday, the president had said in a statement that he was “systematically attacked” and had already stated that he had not committed any act of corruption. The politician also said that his accusers “are generating political instability.”
He said that the two contracts in question were designated by an agency of the United Nations (UN) and not by the regional government of Moquegua, and that the complaints against him are based on press reports and not on decisions of the prosecution or the courts.
– They have not been proven (the facts denounced) and there is no certainty that they occurred – defended the former president.
Vizcarra can still appeal to the Constitutional Court with a new precautionary measure, but that does not prevent him from leaving office. With his fall, his cabinet of ministers will also be removed.
[Esta notícia trata de um episódio recente e será atualizada em instantes].
Peru 02.11
