Peruvian President Dina Bolarte was removed from office on Thursday after a late-night parliamentary vote in which parties across the political spectrum called for her removal.
Bolarte has been under investigation for several months on a variety of charges, including bribery and involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters in 2022.
She denies all allegations and refused to attend Thursday’s vote in which parliament approved her removal, citing “enduring moral incompetence” to confront the onslaught of organized crime in the country.
The 38-year-old president of parliament, José Gerry Ore, will serve as interim president and must hold elections in accordance with the constitution.
Bolarte becomes the latest in a long line of disgraced Peruvian leaders. Since the beginning of the 2000s, at least seven presidents have gone on trial or faced legal challenges related to allegations of corruption or human rights abuses. The eighth person was shot dead by police as they approached.
Bolarte became Peru’s first female president in 2022 after her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was arrested and impeached by lawmakers for trying to dissolve the legislature and form an emergency government.
But since then, she has been plagued by scandal. The most serious charges relate to a crackdown by government security forces on protests following Castillo’s ouster that left more than 60 people dead.
She is accused of accepting Rolex watches and other jewelry as bribes and transporting fugitive politicians in presidential cars.
But the most ridiculous accusation is that she gave up her job to get a rhinoplasty in 2023. He failed to report to Congress or delegate authority during his approximately two-week absence, as required by the constitution. She claimed the surgery was “essential” to her health. The surgeon who performed the surgery denied it and said it was all cosmetic surgery.
Even conservative parties that have historically supported Bolarte have recently turned against her and joined the movement to remove her from office, Reuters reported. These include political figures Rafael López’s People’s Renewal and Keiko Fujimori’s People’s Force.
In addition to various political crises, Peru is also facing a security crisis, with a spike in crime following the murder of a popular musician earlier this year and a state of emergency in the capital and Callao state.
