By Aditi Parashar ’22
Staff Writer
On Nov. 9, Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra was impeached by the country’s Congress following allegations of bribery during his time as governor, reported Reuters. The Congress, which is dominated by opposition members, was led by Manuel Merino, and marks their second attempt since May to oust Vizcarra. Merino, a member of the center-right Popular Action Party who had been Congress’ head, was interim president from Nov. 10 to Nov. 15, when he resigned, reported The Guardian. Peru has now found its third president in the span of a week in Francisco Sagasti.
The impeachment of Vizcarra, a popular centrist leader with widespread public support due to his anti-corruption reforms, brings political turmoil to Peru at a time when the nation is trying to recover from one of the worst economic recessions it has ever seen, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Al-Jazeera reports that Vizcarra rejected the accusations of corruption as “baseless” and “false.” However, he did not challenge the decision and stated he was willing to respond to any criminal charges.
In various cities across the country, Peruvians took to the streets in thousands following Vizcarra’s impeachment, setting off some of the largest protests the country has seen in decades, according to Reuters. Sonia Julca, an economist from the University of Callao, cited the reason for protests as, “The people are against this government led by Merino.” Protesters were found shouting slogans and carrying signs reading “Merino, you are not my president” and “Merino impostor.” Al-Jazeera found that many of the protesters waved signs that accused Congress of carrying out a coup.
While the protests started out in a peaceful manner, by nightfall there were police clashes, leading to the deaths of two young protesters and the injury of dozens more, reported Reuters.
“I ask Mr. Merino to evaluate his immediate resignation,” said President Congress Luis Valdez after an emergency Congress session, reported Al-Jazeera. The National Assembly of Peru has also released a statement asking for Merino’s resignation, claiming that he was “politically responsible for the acts of violence.”
Following the violence with the police, all of the Cabinet ministers announced their resignations. Soon after, Merino himself resigned after only five days in power.
Clarissa Gomez, one of many on the streets celebrating Merino’s resignation, told Reuters, “Merino has resigned because his hands are stained with blood, with the blood of our children.”
“Merino’s resignation will be good for the turmoil Peru has seen in the last week. However, people will still not have complete confidence in Congress just yet, and a democracy cannot exist at its prime without the people believing in it. The new president has his work cut out for him,” Shanze Hasan ’21, an international relations major, said.
After Merino’s abrupt resignation, the legislature of Peru elected Sagasti to be the new interim president. Sagasti is an industrial engineer by profession and a “member of the only political party that voted against the ousting of popular former president Martín Vizcarra a week ago,” The Guardian reported.
Soon after his swearing-in, Sagasti said, “It is absolutely necessary to remain calm, but do not confuse this with passivity, conformity or resignation.” According to Al-Jazeera, he also paid respects to the two men who had died in the protests as a result of police brutality, saying, “We can’t bring them back to life but we can stop this from happening again.” He has also said that he is willing to include ministers from Vizcarra’s government in his Cabinet.
Amman Syed ’22, an economics major, noted the importance of Sagasti’s willingness to include members of Vizcarra’s Cabinet. “Vizcarra’s Cabinet had star Finance Minister María Antonieta Alva. Her handling of … COVID-19 during this time of recession has been a major factor in keeping Peru from being worse off. I hope Sagasti sees that the recession Peru is facing needs someone like her to steer them in the right direction,” Syed said.
