Political crisis: What comes next in Peru after the resignation of President Manuel Merino

One day after two people died amid massive national mobilizations in Peru, the President Manuel Merino left office after receiving the resignation en bloc of at least 13 ministers of the interim cabinet. The resignation was celebrated by the protesters who have called new marches for today, while the Plenary of the Legislature will meet behind closed doors to define the next congressman who will assume power and who will become the fourth president in four years.

Uncertainty settled in Peru since Tuesday when Congress approved the vacancy motion against Martín Vizcarra with 105 votes in favor and 19 against. In the absence of a Vice President in the line of succession, Merino was sworn in as president and was only 122 hours and 17 minutes. Now Peruvians are attentive to the legal route of succession.

According to the Peruvian political analyst, Jeffrey Radzinsky, there were two ways to remove Merino from power: resignation or a motion of censure. Before the resignation, the Board of Directors of the Congress will have to choose among its ranks the new head of state. The current president of Congress, Luis Valdez called a special meeting this afternoon. to “restore peace to all Peruvians.”

In this way, the protocol is activated in which the Legislature will define the new government leader and the new directive of the Legislative Power. Among the consensus that legislators have achieved is that the next president must be on the list of the 19 congressmen who voted against Vizcarra’s departure. From there the idea arises that he is a member of the Purple Party, the only bench that gave all of his votes – nine – in rejection of the vacancy.

“The Purple Party provides possible names for the succession, among which would be the congressman Gino Costa, Carolina Lizárraga or Zenaida Solís. Although this does not ensure that the protests will stop because first you must choose a person who does not generate rejection on the streets and then elect a broad-spectrum cabinet whose priority is to lead us to the April 11 elections, “Radzinsky concludes.