Peru’s Congress Removes President Dina Boluarte in Extraordinary Vote
Peru’s one-house Congress stripped Dina Boluarte of the presidency late Thursday, citing her “permanent moral incapacity.” The swift decision leads to the swearing-in of Congress Speaker José Jerí as acting president, just six months before the scheduled 2026 elections, reports 24brussels.
The legislative body passed four motions of “permanent moral incapacity” with an overwhelming majority of 122 votes out of 130, well above the 87 required. The motions highlighted Boluarte’s failure to effectively tackle surging public insecurity and escalating organized crime.
This parliamentary action followed a disastrous armed attack on the popular cumbia music group Agua Marina at an Army facility in Lima on Sunday night, which ignited significant public outrage over the government’s perceived inaction against crime.
The newly appointed right-wing president Jerí will oversee the executive branch until general elections are held. Boluarte, who made history as Peru’s first female president, served for two years and ten months after assuming power in late 2022 following the impeachment of her predecessor, Pedro Castillo. Despite lacking her own political party, she had received backing from conservative factions in Congress until her support eroded and led to her dismissal, with approval ratings plummeting to as low as 3% in recent surveys.
Throughout her presidency, Boluarte faced multiple investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which scrutinized her for the violent repression of social protests in 2022–2023 that resulted in numerous fatalities, alleged illicit enrichment in the “Rolexgate” scandal, and several other potential transgressions, including accusations of facilitating the escape of a political figure and failing to inform Congress about her cosmetic surgery operations.
Boluarte’s removal adds her to a growing list of Peruvian leaders—including Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Martín Vizcarra, and Pedro Castillo—who have been ousted from office since 2018 using the “permanent moral incapacity” clause.
As stipulated in the Constitution, Jerí assumed the presidency due to Boluarte’s lack of a vice president, a position she held under Castillo before her promotion. “Today, I humbly assume the Presidency of the Republic by constitutional succession to install and lead a transitional government of empathy and broad-based national reconciliation, for which we must build minimum agreements together,” Jerí stated during his inauguration.
The controversial 38-year-old lawmaker was elected as Congress’ Speaker in August. Leftwing Congressman José Quito remarked that Jerí “would not last a week in office because the streets would drive him out.”
