Peru’s Third President … Will the Crisis Reverse?

After a week of political chaos in Peru, following the dismissal of President Martín Vizcarra by Congress and the resignation of his successor, Manuel Merino, the Peruvian Parliament elected Representative Francisco Sagasti as interim president. In an emergency session, held on Monday night, the only candidate, Sagasti (center-right), won the support of 97 congressmen, of the 123 who participated in the vote. The interim president will continue in office until July 28, when Vizcarra’s term ends.

In a speech before Parliament when he formally assumed his functions, the day before yesterday, Sagasti, an engineer and former university professor who worked at the World Bank, said: “Our country at this stage lacks confidence … Believe us, we will combine words with actions” . The new president – described as his lack of political experience, being elected deputy for the first time last March – mentioned the two protesters who were killed in the protests, saying: “When a Peruvian dies, and especially when he is young , all of Peru is mourning. If a defender of democracy dies, the mourning is accompanied by condemnation. “He added:” Today is not a day of celebration … we cannot revive them, but we can take measures in Congress and the Executive so that this does not return. to happen”.

Sagasti will have the challenge of bringing stability to all levels in the country

Sagasti became the third president of Peru in a week, following the resignation of interim president Manuel Merino last Sunday, five days after he was sworn in after the removal of his predecessor Vizcarra. The new president will face the challenge of achieving stability at all levels in the country, which is suffering the worst economic recession, as a result of the great outbreak of the “Corona” virus, since the International Monetary Fund expects a decrease of 14% in the gross domestic product. In 2016, Sagasti co-founded the only “Morado” (Lila) party that did not vote to remove Vizcarra.

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