Peru's Congress ousts President Jeri after just four months in office

2026-02-17 - 23:32

Peru's Congress voted Tuesday to censure interim President Jose Jeri, abruptly ending his brief tenure after just over four months in office and plunging the South American nation into yet another political crisis. The extraordinary session, convened while lawmakers were officially on legislative recess, resulted in 75 votes in favor of censure, 24 against, and three abstentions, effectively removing Jeri, who had assumed the presidency in October following the ouster of Dina Boluarte. Corruption Scandals and Plummeting Approval Jeri's removal was driven by two major corruption investigations launched by the prosecutor's office. The most damaging scandal involved leaked footage showing Jeri arriving late at night at a local restaurant wearing a hooded sweatshirt in an apparent attempt to disguise his identity, to meet Zhihua Yang, a Chinese businessman whose company had recently secured government approval for a major hydroelectric plant. The clandestine nature of the meeting, omitted from the official presidential agenda, sparked public outrage. A second investigation revealed that five women with close personal ties to the president held private meetings in his office until midnight, after which all five subsequently secured lucrative government contracts. Political Alliances and Transition Ahead The censure motion was propelled by an unusual alliance between a minority leftist opposition and a bloc of right-wing parties, both arguing that Jeri lacked "functional suitability" to lead the country through the upcoming transition to national elections scheduled in just two months. Jeri, the eighth head of state to lead Peru in a decade, has denied any wrongdoing, denouncing the investigations as a "destabilization plot" orchestrated by political enemies. However, his public approval ratings plummeted in the wake of the scandals. What Comes Next Congressional President Fernando Rospigliosi announced that the legislature would convene again Wednesday to elect a successor to lead the country until a new administration is sworn in following the elections. The rapid turnover in Peru's presidency—eight leaders in ten years—underscores the deep institutional instability that has plagued the nation, with corruption allegations, executive-legislative conflicts, and public distrust creating a cycle of political crises that shows no signs of abating.