Political tensions rise again in Peru
With Martin Vizcarra being removed from the Presidency by Congress, our Co-editor Juan Miralles takes a look at the situation in Peru.
Once again, the political situation in Peru has captured the attention of the world, as on Monday Congress voted to remove President Martin Vizcarra from power. The impeachment vote came as a result of corruption allegations, according to which, the President is said to have received an estimated $638,000 in kickbacks during his tenure as regional governor. After the vote, President Vizcarra accepted the results and left office, allowing the President of Congress, Manuel Merino, to provisionally be sworn into power until new elections are held in April 2021.
But the majority of Peruvian citizens do not agree with what has happened. Since he assumed the presidency in 2018, Mr. Vizcarra has managed to obtain a great deal of support, ironically, for his efforts to fight corruption. However, he also found himself involved in a battle with Congress, an institution controlled mostly by political parties opposed to the government and that is perceived by citizens as plagued with corruption.
A recent Ipsos poll found that 78 percent of the Peruvian population opposed the removal of the president, with many believing that Congress should rather focus on solving the pandemic, rather than removing the president. Hence, after the announcement of the voting results, thousands of Peruvians took to the streets to protest against the impeachment of President Vizcarra, claiming that it was a coup by the legislature.
The protests have generated a large number of clashes between civilians and the police, resulting in several injuries and a general feeling of civil unrest. Certainly, it can be said that Peru is a country that for several years has been characterized by corruption scandals among its politicians and by a precarious political situation. It is enough to see that, since the departure of Alberto Fujimori as president, all his successors have been either criminally charged, detained or imprisoned for corruption allegations. Likewise, since 2016, the country has been plagued by a bitter battle between the Executive and the Legislative branches, which has led to various political moves and countermoves between them, the last one being the removal of Vizcarra.
Now, the country remains in the hands of Mr. Manuel Merino, who is expected to lead the nation until elections are held in April 2021. However, it is also believed that Merino himself could seek to reverse some of the political reforms introduced by former President Vizcarra, such as the prohibition of reelection of members of Congress. Likewise, it has been said that he could implement populist economic policies in fiscal and pension matters.
In short, the political panorama of Peru does not look good at all. On the one hand, it is not known how the protests that have been taking place since Monday will unfold and, on the other, it is not known whether Mr. Merino will be able to lead the country during this political crisis. The only certain thing is that political tensions in Peru have risen again and the situation of Peruvians worries a great deal.
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