Peru president survives impeachment vote
LIMA, PERU
President Martín Vizcarra of Peru survived an impeachment vote on Friday, ending a congressional battle which had threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis amid a devastating pandemic.
The opposition’s motion to impeach the president for alleged obstruction of justice was supported by 32 of Peru’s 130 lawmakers, far short of the two-thirds majority of 87 votes required for removal.
The vote, capping a turbulent week of political battles between Vizcarra’s supporters and opponents, cleared a path for the president to serve out his term, which ends in July, after which he has promised to leave office and defend himself in court against accusations of any wrongdoing.
But what was exposed by the impeachment hearings has further discredited Peru’s political class, seven months ahead of general elections in one of the Latin American countries worst hit by the pandemic.
Opposition lawmakers initiated impeachment proceedings last week after releasing a series of audio recordings, in which Vizcarra appeared to be instructing subordinates to lie to prosecutors about a minor influence-peddling scandal.
But their bid to topple him began to unravel within hours, after military leaders signaled their support for Vizcarra, a centrist former vice president, and as influential opposition leaders came out against the motion, arguing that the country needed stability in a time of crisis.
“Peru cannot be stopped because of the content of a few audio recordings with no validity,” Vizcarra said in a speech defending himself before Congress on Friday. “The management of the pandemic and the economic reactivation cannot remain in suspense.”
Despite enacting swift lockdowns and having accumulated large financial reserves before the pandemic, Peru now has the highest number of deaths per capita from the coronavirus in the world. Its economy, once the region’s fastest growing, is on track to contract 12% this year.
Peru has a unicameral system, so the vote Friday was Congress’ final word on impeachment. Vizcarra is the sixth consecutive Peruvian president to be accused of corruption. He cannot be formally investigated until his term ends.