Opposition lawmakers move to force out president in corruption case
Opposition lawmakers began an effort to force Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski out of office after he rebuffed calls to resign over his ties to companies that received payments from disgraced Brazilian builder Odebrecht SA.
Congressman 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 Popular Force party, which has a majority in the unicameral Congress, are among the signatories.
Peru’s currency and bonds slumped amid concern that the 79-year-old veteran of Wall Street might be forced out after only 16 months heading one of Latin America’s fastestgrowing economies. Since Brazil-based Odebrecht admitted bribing officials in several nations in the socalled Carwash case, a corruption investigation has rocked Peru’s establishment and damped economic growth.
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 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 Lima-based 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 will likely be removed within weeks, said Fernando Rospigliosi, who served under Kuczynski in the 2001-2006 government of Alejandro Toledo. “There’s no way he can survive this crisis,” he said.
The prospect of the president’s removal depressed the Peruvian currency. The sol fell 1.4 percent to 3.29 per U.S. dollar at 1:15 p.m. in Lima, the steepest decline since June 2013.
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.
It’s unlikely either would be able to head a minority government through 2021, when the government’s mandate ends, and early elections are the best solution, said Rospigliosi.
“In any of the scenarios, the current political situation will move into a period of tension with no way back,” said Larrain Vial, a Santiago-based brokerage, in a note to clients.
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 Thursday he had no involvement in the firm while he held public office.