TheEconomistNovember 14th 2020 351P
eru’s constitutionmakes it relatively
easy for Congress to get rid of a presi-
dent. The legislature need only decide that
he or she is “morally unfit”, and, by a two-
thirds majority of its single chamber, evict
the chief executive from the Pizarro Palace.
On November 9th, by a vote of 105 to 19 with
four abstentions, Congress did just that to
Martín Vizcarra (pictured). That marks the
second time in less than three years that it
has toppled a president. (Mr Vizcarra took
over from Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who quit
before he could be impeached.)
Manuel Merino, who was Congress’s
speaker until he took over as president on
November 10th, will probably hold on to
the office until his term expires next July.
But that does not mean Peru will enjoy sta-
bility. It is dealing with an outbreak of co-
vid-19 that has killed 35,000 people. As a
share of the population, that is the third-
worst in the world. The economy contract-
ed by 15.7% in the first eight months of 2020
compared with the same period a year ear-
lier, and is expected to shrink by 12% for the
full year. There is little reason to believe
that the presidential and congressionalelections scheduled for next April, in
which by law none of the current office-
holders may seek to hold on to their jobs,
will produce leaders who can manage the
economy or the pandemic better.
Mr Vizcarra fell over allegations that he
took kickbacks from public-works projects
during his one term as governor of the
southern department of Moquegua from
2011 to 2014. Although he clearly has ques-
tions to answer, nothing has been proved.
His critics say he has been meddling in the
judiciary to avoid prosecution and to harm
his foes. In his 50-minute self-defence be-
fore Congress, Mr Vizcarra agreed that an
investigation was warranted but said it
should wait until he finished his term. His
ousting would cause chaos, he warned.
Rather than debate the merits of the
case against him, lawmakers denounced
his ethics and his handling of the pandem-ic. Mr Vizcarra challenged the “legality”
and “legitimacy” of the impeachment, but
went quietly. He declared his innocence
and said he would go home “with my head
held high”.
As he left the palace residents of Lima
banged pots and pans to oppose his remov-
al. Several thousand people gathered near
Congress and outside the capital on No-
vember 10th to protest. Riot police used
tear gas and water cannon to control the
protesters. Some were arrested. More than
three-quarters of Peruvians opposed his
impeachment, according to one survey.
It is the latest crisis for a political sys-
tem whose prestige and institutions have
been ground down by allegations of graft.
All of Peru’s presidents since 2001 have
been ensnared in one way or another by the
scandal surrounding Odebrecht, a Brazil-
ian construction firm that bribed politi-
cians across Latin America. Two former
presidents are under house arrest; one is at
liberty while he awaits trial; a fourth com-
mitted suicide to avoid arrest. Keiko Fuji-
mori, until recently the most powerful op-
position leader, is awaiting trial. The
allegations against Mr Vizcarra were the re-
sult of a tentative plea bargain by suspects
in the Odebrecht investigations.
Peruvians see corruption as the coun-
try’s biggest problem, even ahead of the
pandemic, according to opinion polls. But
they regard Mr Vizcarra as part of the sol-
ution. His approval ratings averaged 58% in
the three main polls published in October.
To many, his war with Congress looked likePeruEarly retirement
LIMA
Congress topples President Martín Vizcarra on its second attemptThe Americas
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