Peru’s Revolving Door: President No. 8?

Ollanta Humala was the last Peruvian president to finish a full term. That was 2016. Since then, the country has burned through seven heads of state — resigned, ousted, arrested, or simply discarded by a Congress that discovered it could topple presidents at will. On Tuesday, lawmakers vote on whether to make José Jerí number eight. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Peru affairs and Latin American financial news.

Jerí, 39, inherited the presidency just four months ago when Congress removed Dina Boluarte for failing to curb a crime epidemic. As speaker of parliament, he was next in the constitutional line — no vice presidents existed. His early weeks brought surprising popularity: social media energy, a tough-on-crime posture, a fresh face. Then came the photographs. Jerí was caught entering a Chinese restaurant in a hood for unregistered meetings with businessman Zhihua Yang, linked to state contracts and illegal economy networks. The scandal, dubbed “Chifagate,” triggered a fiscal investigation for influence trafficking. Separately, reports emerged of young women visiting the presidential palace at night who were later hired on government payrolls.

Peru Election Drama Intensifies

The censure mechanism being used is itself a legal novelty. Since Jerí holds the presidency only because he chairs Congress, removing him as speaker automatically strips his presidential title — requiring just a simple majority rather than the 87-vote supermajority needed for a formal presidential removal. Jerí himself says censure is the wrong instrument. He will not attend the session.

The real drama is electoral. April 12 elections are eight weeks away, and the two leading presidential candidates — Keiko Fujimori and Rafael López Aliaga — sit on opposite sides. Fujimori’s Fuerza Popular bloc opposes the censure, arguing that ousting a president without conclusive evidence would destabilize the country. López Aliaga’s Renovación Popular fires back, accusing Fujimori of sheltering corruption. Both are competing for right-wing voters and using Jerí’s fate as a campaign weapon.

A 68% majority of Peruvians consider Jerí a corruption suspect, according to Datum. Yet his entourage projects confidence: the Foreign Ministry announced he has been invited to a Trump-hosted summit in Miami on March 7 and a meeting with Pope León XIV in May. Whether he will still hold the office to attend either engagement is the question Peru answers today.

Related coverage: Brazil’s Morning Call | USA & Canada Intelligence Brief for Tuesday, February 17, 20

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