Third president in single week for Peru
LIMA: Peru's Congress yesterday chose legislator Francisco Sagasti as the Andean country's caretaker president, in an attempt to defuse a sharp political crisis after angry protests and the departure of two presidents in the past week.
Sagasti (76), from the centrist
Morado Party, won enough votes to head Congress, which means he will constitutionally assume the presidency of Peru ahead of national elections called for April.
Sagasti will be Peru's third president in a week, after interim leader Manuel Merino resigned on Monday, five days after being sworn in following the ousting of centrist Martin Vizcarra.
The removal of Vizcarra, who was popular with many Peruvians but angered politicians with his push for anticorruption measures and attempts to curb parliamentary immunity, sparked days of protests that led to the deaths of two men.
Sagasti, a former World Bank official and engineer, faces a formidable challenge to bring stability to the country, where underlying anger at police and elected representatives continues to simmer. — Reuters