Peru’s Congress Ousts President Dina Boluarte Amid Security Crisis

Peru’s Congress removed President Dina Boluarte in the early hours of Friday after a swift impeachment debate centered on the country’s worsening security emergency, and swore in congressional leader José Jerí, 38, to serve as head of state until 26 July 2026.

Lawmakers voted by an overwhelming margin to declare Boluarte’s “permanent moral incapacity,” easily surpassing the constitutional threshold.

Boluarte, in office since December 2022, had been summoned to defend herself late Thursday but declined to appear, prompting Congress to proceed with the vote.

By constitutional succession, the president of Congress assumes the presidency when the post is vacated and there is no vice president.

Jerí, a lawyer and member of Somos Perú who took the helm of Congress in July, pledged an immediate focus on public safety, saying the state must “declare war” on gangs and organized crime.

Peru’s Congress Ousts President Dina Boluarte Amid Security Crisis

Peru has battled a sharp rise in extortion, contract killings, and other violent crimes this year. Death registry data and police complaints point to an elevated homicide toll through August and tens of thousands of extortion reports nationwide.

Public anger intensified this week after gunmen opened fire at a Lima concert by the cumbia group Agua Marina, injuring performers and attendees.

Boluarte’s turbulent tenure followed years of political churn: since 2016, Peru has cycled through multiple presidents amid impeachment drives, resignations, and street unrest.

She assumed office after the failed attempt by then-president Pedro Castillo to dissolve Congress, and governed with limited party backing and low approval ratings as protests flared over inequality, regional grievances, and the use of force by security services.

Jerí framed his mandate as transitional. General elections remain scheduled for April 2026, with the new government due to take office in late July.

The incoming administration faces twin tests: containing organized crime without eroding civil liberties, and steering a credible electoral process to close a volatile chapter in Peru’s democracy.