Peru ouster throws nation’s anti-corruption drive into doubt

LIMA, Peru — When Peru’s legislature voted President Martín Vizcarra from office this week, they may have done more than just oust a popular leader — they likely put the country’s best chance at making a dent on endemic corruption on hold.

The chief of state had emerged as the country’s most vocal proponent in pushing through measures to end decades of dirty politics. Vizcarra dissolved Congress last year after lawmakers repeatedly stonewalled efforts to curb graft and reform the judiciary. More recently, he tried to get rid of their right to parliamentary immunity.

He may not have succeeded in pushing through major change — and is now under scrutiny for his own possible misconduct — but many Peruvians saw Vizcarra as the leader of a still nascent drive to hold the powerful accountable. Furious at his removal Monday, thousands have taken to the streets daily in protest, refusing to recognize the new government.

“From the political point of view, he was the face of the resistance,” said Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg, an analyst and assistant professor at Peru’s Universidad del Pacifico. “I think we will not see much anti-corruption efforts in this Congress.”

In a region where graft is common, Peru has gone further than most Latin American countries in recent years in investigating high-ranking leaders.

Every former living president is being probed or has been charged on corruption charges. All but one has been tied to the massive Odebrecht scandal, in which the Brazilian construction giant has admitted to doling out millions in bribes.