José Jerí takes oath of office after Dina Boluarte's midnight impeachment. Image credit: Madhyamam
(The Post News) – Peruvians awoke on Friday to their seventh president in less than a decade following lawmakers’ overnight surprise impeachment of President Dina Boluarte and installation of 38-year-old conservative lawmaker José Jerí as the country’s new president.
The dramatic change in leadership happened just after midnight when Peru’s 130-seat Congress voted 124–0 to remove Boluarte, pointing to her failure to curb out-of-control crime and corruption. Boluarte, who failed to appear before lawmakers to respond to inquiries in her defence, was impeached following a mere three years as president.
Jerí, newly elected president of Congress in July, was inaugurated at dawn, swearing to pursue “national reconciliation” and “declare war on crime.” He vowed to be electoral neutral until Peru’s presidential election in April 2026, swearing, “The main enemy is out there on the streets: criminal gangs.”
From Congress Speaker to President Overnight
The hasty rise of Jerí surprised Peru’s political elite. The lawyer, with no extensive background in politics, belonged to the centrist-conservative Somos Perú party while studying law and entered Congress in 2021 as a replacement legislator for ex-President Martín Vizcarra.
Despite his August assurance to El Comercio newspaper that he would not take over if Boluarte were impeached, citing respect for “presidential institutionality”, Jerí is now at the helm of a fractured nation.
Experts warn that his short record as a governor and controversies like a now-abandoned sexual assault investigation and media reports of suspected corruption could undermine his legitimacy.
“He is in the midst of controversies,” Princeton University Latin America specialist Jo-Marie Burt said. “He is susceptible to being manipulated by powerful political blocs in Congress because of limited experience.”
Boluarte was elected as Peru’s first-ever female president in December of 2022 after the removal of her leftist predecessor, Pedro Castillo, who was impeached for attempting to dissolve Congress. Her presidency was marked by dismal approval ratings ranging from 2% to 4% and deadly protests that killed dozens of people.
In recent months, her inability to stem Peru’s crime wave has gone out of control, eating into what little popularity she had left. Wednesday’s shooting at a Lima concert that injured five people further infuriated the public. Legislators seized the moment to push her out.
Boluarte’s presidency had also been marred by several corruption investigations, such as “Rolexgate”, a probe into high-end watches and jewellery allegedly purchased with ill-gotten wealth, and a 2023 plastic surgery scandal over gratuities bestowed on her cosmetic surgeon.
The Attorney General’s Office has now sought a travel ban for Boluarte as it investigated her for money laundering and influence peddling.
“I have not thought about myself, but about Peruvians,” Boluarte stated in a curt televised speech Friday morning before the channel cut to Jerí’s swearing-in ceremony.
A Nation on Edge
Peru’s political turmoil is unparalleled in Latin America. The nation has had eight presidents since 2016, all of whom have been ousted or resigned through corruption and battling.
Friday’s impeachment came amid growing public outrage at insecurity. More than 6,000 were murdered in Peru from January through mid-August, the most in almost a decade, and extortion complaints have grown 28% from last year.
Boluarte had ludicrously blamed the violence on “illegal immigrants” earlier this week, sparking outrage among human rights groups.
Jerí inherits a nation bled by corruption, crime, and political instability. His administration, which will stay in office until July 28, 2026, will oversee the April elections, if they hold out that long.
Witnesses cite that the last congressional president-turned-interim president, Manuel Merino, lasted only five days before being overthrown by huge protests in 2020.
“There is a real risk Jerí will be in the same boat,” said Nicholas Watson, managing director of a political risk consultancy with Teneo. “He needs to act fast to stabilize the security and restore the people’s confidence, or the streets will determine his fate.”
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