Interim leader steps down as turmoil mounts
LIMA, Peru — Interim President Manuel Merino resigned Sunday as the nation plunged into its worst constitutional crisis in two decades following enormous protests unleashed when Congress ousted the nation’s popular leader.
In a short televised address, Manuel Merino said Congress acted within the law when he was sworn into office as chief of state Tuesday, despite protesters’ allegations that legislators had staged a parliamentary coup.
“I, like everyone, want what’s best for our country,” he said.
The politician agreed to step down after a night of violent demonstrations in which two young protesters were killed and half his Cabinet resigned. Peruvians cheered the decision, waving their nation’s red and white flag on the streets of Lima and chanting “We did it!” But there is no clear playbook for what comes next.
Congress scheduled an emergency session to select a new president. Meanwhile, ex-President Martin Vizcarra — whose ouster sparked the upheaval — called on the country’s highest court to step in.
Peru has much at stake: The country is in the throes of one of the world’s most lethal coronavirus outbreaks and political analysts say the constitutional crisis has cast the country’s democracy into jeopardy.
Congress kicked Vizcarra out using a clause dating back to the 19th century that allows the legislature to remove a president for “permanent moral incapacity.” Legislators accused Vizcarra of taking bribes in exchange for construction contracts while governor of a province years ago.
Prosecutors are investigating the allegations but Vizcarra has not been charged. He denied the accusations.
Merino, previously head of Congress, stepped in as interim president, but his sixday rule was marred by constant protests. The littleknown politician and rice farmer promised to keep in place a scheduled vote for a new president in April. That did little to sway Peruvians who were loath to accept him.