Peru replaced a president accused of corruption. Within 24 hours, his successor was summoned to criminal court.
José María Balcázar, an 83-year-old leftist who assumed the interim presidency on February 18 after José Jerí was removed over graft allegations, has been cited to oral trial by a criminal court in Chiclayo. The charge is illicit appropriation of funds — a case that predates his arrival in the presidential palace by years.
The investigation dates to Balcázar‘s time as dean of the Lambayeque Bar Association between 2019 and 2020. Prosecutors allege that during his tenure, institutional funds were deposited into personal bank accounts in his name rather than official accounts, and that he failed to properly document or report the transactions.
The public prosecutor’s office expelled him in 2022 and filed formal charges in November 2023, seeking a prison sentence and civil reparations of approximately 770,000 soles ($200,000 to $300,000). The court has ordered him to appear — in person or virtually — on June 16.
If he does not attend without valid justification, the court can declare him a fugitive, issue an arrest warrant, and proceed with the trial in his absence.
For a country that has cycled through six presidents since 2018 and impeached or removed several of them, the spectacle of yet another head of state facing legal proceedings before settling into the job underscores the depth of Peru’s institutional crisis. The presidency has become less a destination than a revolving door.