Updated: November 17, 2020 8:57:56 am
A caravan of protesters on motorcycles travels awaiting news about who will be the next president of the country, in Lima, Peru (AP Photo / Rodrigo Abd)
The fifth president of Peru in five years, Manuel Merino, was forced out of power on Sunday, just five days after taking office, as massive protests swept across the South American country, which remains leaderless until Monday. The turmoil began on November 9, when the centrist Martín Vizcarra, Merino’s popular predecessor in office, was indicted by the Peruvian legislature for “permanent moral incapacity” on unsubstantiated corruption charges.
The demonstrations across the country that have rocked the nation since then have been compared to the riots that marked the turbulent era of authoritarian President Alberto Fujimori between 1990 and 2000. So far, violent clashes have resulted in two deaths, dozens of injuries, and more than 40 missing, and the government’s harsh response has drawn criticism from various quarters, including a scathing reprimand from the Nobel Prize winner for literature Mario Vargas Llosa. So what caused this crisis in Peru?
The political trial of Martín Vizcarra
The 57-year-old engineer, Martín Vizcarra, a center figure who is not affiliated with any political party, became the “first” vice president of the Andean country (there are two) in July 2016, and became president in March 2018 after then incumbent Pedro Kuczynski resigned on corruption charges.
Vizcarra promised an anti-bribery agenda, initiating reforms to combat corruption in the legislative and judicial branches of government, and promised not to consider another run for the presidency when his term expired in 2021. Through his term, Vizcarra was able to gain support for Nacional level. .
However, since taking office, Vizcarra had a strained relationship with Congress, Peru’s 130-member unicameral legislative body, and dissolved it in 2019, triggering a constitutional crisis. To his dismay, snap elections in January this year again saw the parties that opposed his government return to a dominant position.
Since the election, the Peruvian Congress has tried to remove Vizcarra from office twice. In September of this year, after the release of audio recordings allegedly implicating Vizcarra in an influence peddling scam, Congress launched its first offer of impeachment. Vizcarra denied the charges and the offer fell through due to lack of support.
The second attempt was launched in October on unsubstantiated corruption accusations worth 2.3 million soles ($ 640,000) against Vizcarra, dating from when he was governor of the southern region of Moquegua between 2011 and 2014. This effort was successful on November 9, with 105 votes in favor and 19 against, holding Vizcarra liable under a 19th century clause for “permanent moral incapacity,” even though he vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
With the departure of Vizcarra, the president of Congress, Manuel Merino, a member of the center-right Popular Action party, assumed the presidency on an interim basis a day later on Tuesday. 📣 Click to follow Express Explained on Telegram
Martín Vizcarra (left); Manuel Merino. (AP Photos)
Protests against Merino
During his two and a half years in power, Vizcarra had accumulated great popularity, especially among Peruvian youth, as an anti-corruption crusader. So when impeachment came last week, his supporters accused Congress of orchestrating a parliamentary coup.
Thus, thousands of protesters took to the streets in various parts of Peru, which has already been disproportionately impacted within the continent by the coronavirus pandemic, and whose economy is expected to experience a reduction of 14 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. .
Agitators called for Merino’s resignation, despite his promises to act as a unifying figure, and to hold the presidential elections scheduled for April 2021. Tensions continued to rise towards the end of the week, resulting in the deaths of two students and dozens of injured on Saturday. .
The deaths of 22-year-old Jack Pintado, shot 11 times with metal pellets, and 24-year-old Inti Sotelo, injured four times, caused a furor, further intensifying calls for Merino to leave. Lima-based El Comercio wrote in its editorial: “… the new Executive has been left without any defense of legitimacy or moral authority, largely due to its own clumsiness, pettiness, and insistence on error. They have to leave the government palace as soon as possible. “
Most of Merino’s cabinet resigned, and he too did the same on Sunday, presenting an “irrevocable” resignation and leaving Peru rudderless. Reports say Congress is now looking for an acceptable replacement, but few expect the appointment of another of its nominees to pacify the protesters. Opponents of the legislature, including Vizcarra, have instead called for Peru’s highest court to step in and decide the legality of the impeachment process, as a possible verdict in his favor could help keep Vizcarra’s political ambitions afloat.
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