LIMA, Peru (AP) – Peru’s Congress has voted to remove highly unpopular President Dina Bolarte from office as a crime wave grips the South American country.
Lawmakers had voted in favor of accepting four requests for Bolarte’s removal from office, citing his government’s inability to stop crimes. They exceeded the minimum 56 votes required for each request, setting up debate in the 130-member unicameral chamber and an impeachment trial.
Lawmakers then asked Bolarte to appear in court to defend herself shortly before midnight Thursday, but when she failed to appear, they immediately voted to remove her from office. In the blink of an eye, just after midnight, 124 senators voted to impeach Mr. Bolarte.
The shocking turn of events came just hours after a mass shooting at a concert in the capital sparked outrage over crime that rocked South America.
Unlike the previous eight attempts to remove her from office, nearly all legislative factions expressed support for this demand.
Bolarte took office in December 2022 after Congress used the same mechanism to impeach his predecessor.
Bolarte’s government is struggling to deal with a sharp increase in crime, particularly murder and extortion. She said Wednesday that part of the situation is due to immigrants living in the country illegally.
“This crime has been brewing for decades, reinforced by illegal immigration, and successive governments have not broken it,” he said at a military ceremony. “Instead, they opened the doors to our borders and allowed criminals to enter anywhere without restriction.”
According to official figures, 6,041 people were killed between January and mid-August, the highest in the same period since 2017. Meanwhile, extortion complaints totaled 15,989 from January to July, an increase of 28% compared to the same period in 2024.
The country’s latest presidential crisis erupted on Wednesday after a man opened fire during a concert by Peru’s most popular cumbia group, Agua Marina, injuring five people.
Prime Minister Eduardo Arana defended Bolarte on Thursday during a hearing focused on crimes in parliament, but it was not enough to dissuade lawmakers from pushing a motion calling for the president to step down.
“Congress’s concerns will not be resolved by addressing the impeachment motion, much less by approving the impeachment motion,” Arana told lawmakers. “We’re not clinging to our position. We’re here, but we knew from the beginning that our first day here could be our last day in office.”
