New Peru president sworn in following resignation

LIMA, PERU — A little-known former governor was sworn in as Peru’s president on Friday hours after the congress voted to accept the resignation of president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski following a corruption scandal.

Martin Vizcarra took the oath of office shortly after 1 p.m. and was given the presidential sash by congressional president Luis Galarreta.

Earlier, congress voted to grant Kuczynski’s request to step down after just 20 months in power, but rejected his written arguments that he was doing so as a result of his opponents’ constant plotting to undermine his rule.

Vizcarra received something of a hero’s welcome shortly after midnight Friday when he arrived in Peru from Canada, where he had been serving as ambassador, amid one of the most politically turbulent periods in Peru’s recent history.

Supporters welcomed him at the airport with a large cake in the red and white colours of Peru’s flag celebrating his 55th birthday Thursday.

“With faith and optimism, Peru will always move forward,” he said in brief remarks from his home.

A last-minute hitch Friday had threatened to delay the transition of power.

Kuczynski said in a tweet that the proposed language of a congressional resolution approving his resignation is “unacceptable,” and if lawmakers press forward with the wording he would reverse his decision to quit, forcing congress to go forward with plans to try and impeach him.

In the end, the language was removed. But congress nonetheless rebuked the 79-year-old Kuczynski, scolding him for a “political crisis that that is the result of wrongful acts that the president himself has committed,” according to the final text of the resolution.

Efforts to oust the unpopular Kuczynski led by the daughter of former strongman Alberto Fujimori have been building for months. But the campaign went into overdrive this week after the emergence of secretly shot videos showed allies of Kuczynski, including Fujimori’s son, allegedly attempting to buy the support of an opposition lawmaker to block the president’s impeachment.

To stem off an even more disgraceful exit, Kuczynski delivered a resignation letter to congress Wednesday, blaming relentless attacks by his opponents for making it impossible to govern.

Kuczynski’s downfall was his association with Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant that has admitted to spreading some $800 million US in bribes to officials across Latin America, including $29 million in Peru.