Opposition lawmakers attempt to force out president

Opposition lawmakers began an effort to oust Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski from office after he rebuffed calls to resign over his ties to companies that received payments from disgraced Brazilian builder Odebrecht.

Lawmakers from three parties on Friday signed a motion seeking to remove the center-right president from his post on the grounds of moral incapacity. Members of the Popular Force party, which has a majority in the unicameral Congress, are among the signatories.

Kuczynski, a 79-yearold veteran of Wall Street, could be forced out after only 16 months heading one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies. Since Brazil-based Odebrecht admitted bribing officials in several nations in the so-called Carwash case, a corruption investigation has rocked Peru’s establishment.

The probe has implicated former presidents, government officials and businessmen, and prosecutors are looking into Kuczynski’s role in a highway contract awarded to Odebrecht when he was a government minister.

Facing calls to resign, Kuczynski took to state television late Thursday to deny claims by opposition lawmakers that he received payments. He promised to allow investigators to examine his bank accounts.

“He had an opportunity to resign, and we see that he’s not capable of doing that. He wants to cling onto power,” Hector Becerril, an opposition lawmaker, told the Limabased Canal N television network. His Popular Force party will seek a consensus in Congress “to take the decision that Peru requires for its growth and development.”

Given the strength of the opposition, the president could be removed within weeks, said Fernando Rospigliosi, who served under Kuczynski in the 2001-06 government of Alejandro Toledo. “There’s no way he can survive this crisis,” he predicted.

In the event Kuczynski is unseated, he would be replaced by one of two vice presidents: Martin Vizcarra, the ambassador in Canada, or Mercedes Araoz, the Cabinet chief.

The crisis escalated rapidly after the committee said this week it obtained information from Odebrecht showing it made payments to a consultancy set up by Kuczynski more than a decade ago. Kuczynski, a former central banker and finance minister, said he had no involvement in the firm while he held public office.

“I’m an honest man and have been all my life. I’m prepared to defend the truth before the Carwash committee and the Attorney General’s Office,” Kuczynski said, a reference to the congressional panel investigating corruption.