LIMA, Peru (AP) – Peru was sworn in as its third president in less than a week on Tuesday, after the worst constitutional crisis in two decades.
Donating the red and white presidency, Francisco Sagasti vowed to restore confidence in the government and paid tribute to two young men who died during a protest last week when Congress voted to oust the popular predecessor.
“We can’t bring them back to life,” he said. “But we can prevent this from happening again.”
In Lima, many said they were cautiously optimistic that the old politician could lead the county to stability after a week of upheaval. But Sagasti has a way.
After the ceremony, the self-interested and corrupt pedestrians in the capital are young Peruvians who are angry at the government. The Congress is surrounded by political parties that ousted two presidents during their five-year tenure. And Sagasti has only five months left in his term before the presidential election.
“In my 63 years, I have never seen a better president,” said Victor Mazarina, who offered to exchange Peruvian currency, the Sol, the dollar, when he was standing outside Congress. “I hope this is a different one.”
Peru was shocked last week when Congress voted to oust former President Martin Vizcara. Protesters took to the streets, calling the move a parliamentary uprising. The legislators swore in a few well-known politicians and rice farmers as the country’s interim leaders. But most of his cabinet resigned and he resigned five days after the demonstration turned violent.
For more than 24 hours, Peru had no president-elect.
An engineer by training, Sagasti became head of state of Peru a day after being voted in as Congress leader. Because Manuel Merino had no vice president when he resigned on Sunday, that made Sagasti the frontrunner in the line. He is a respected scholar whose works include a book entitled “Democracy and Good Governance”. In 1996, Tupac was among those taken hostage by our rebels at the residence of the Japanese ambassador to Lipa.
Sagasti’s reputation as a consensus builder makes him the right choice for the moment, said Michael Shifter, who heads the Inter-American Dialogue Think Tank and knows the new president.
“He always had ideas about trying to build a bridge in Peru,” Shifter said. “It was just what he really was.”
The 76-year-old centrist legislator visited hospitals in the early hours after becoming head of Congress on Monday where injured protesters were recovering and vowed to do everything in their power to bring hope back to Peru.
Reiterating that message in his speech on Tuesday, he vowed to change the name of the President’s Scholarship in honor of Peruvian youth. He praised the opposition for reminding politicians of the democratic values they are sworn to uphold. And he promised to continue the fight against corruption.
“What we have seen in all regions of the country is this great movement of youth.”
The biography on Sagasti’s website says he works while listening to classical music, has been married three times and puts a piece of cardboard out of a box of mineral water with the signatures of our former Tupak our kidnappers on the wall.
“It was an interesting experience,” he says of his imprisonment in the text.
Yet, for many Peruvians it is a relative stranger, one of the successive successors of presidents causing frustration, confusion and discomfort. The Peruvian man elected in 2016 – Pedro Pablo Kuczynski – was believed to be in power until 2021. Instead, Congress has repeatedly brought in four leaders before the end of their term in a corruption scandal and an armed nation.
“To me they’re all the same,” said Ernesto Minaya, 52, shining shoes. “I don’t recognize him.”
As Sagasti was sworn in, the two men killed in the protest, 22-year-old Jack Pintado and 24-year-old Jordan Sotolo, were shouted at by about 100 protesters outside Congress. Several thousand people marched through Lima calling for justice for those who protested the deaths and for a new Congress and constitution.
“We can’t build a better country without justice and reconciliation,” said George Quintrose, 23.
Sagasti voted against Vizkara’s expulsion – which is likely to garner at least some support from those taking to the streets in protest. Unlike Wizkara, he also has a party representing him in Congress. Analysts believe that the legislature will still try to fight any major reforms, especially corruption – but it will take a long time to remove.
Lawmakers used a 19th-century clause to expel Wisconsin for “moral incompetence,” accusing him of taking bribes when he was governor years ago. Vizcara denies the allegations. The country’s highest court is assessing whether Congress has taken legal action. His judgment may not be preposterous but may have further implications.
For many, the ordeal was a clear demonstration of why Peru’s political system needed to be reformed. No party in Congress has a majority, which makes building consent a challenge. Many politicians have little experience – and about half are under investigation. They have tremendous power and can oust the president with a two-thirds majority.
Every living president of Peru is being investigated or accused of corruption. And yet, despite the upheaval, the country is a strong economic performer in Latin America. However, epidemics have hit Peru’s economy. The International Monetary Fund is down 14% in GDP this year.
“I think this is the end of this kind of coexistence between frustrated politics and the sound economy,” Shifter said.
In the wake of her tabloid headlines on Tuesday, L1-year-old Anna Lizardo said she was a little confident Sagasti would take a break from the past.
“I’ve seen a lot of presidents my age and they’ve all been corrupt,” he said. “I hope it’s better.”
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