Peru president quits amid bribery scandal
LIMA—
Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski announced his resignation on Wednesday in an address to the nation, the day before he was to face an impeachment vote in Congress.
The 79-year-old former Wall Street banker, under fire over his links to the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, denied allegations of bribetaking but said his resignation was “the best thing for the country.”
Kuczynski was the first president to lose his job over the scandal, in which the Brazilian company admitted paying out millions of dollars in bribes and gifts to Latin American politicians and businessmen to secure public works contracts.
‘Best thing for Peru’
His resignation came a few weeks before Kuczynski was due to host the Summit of the Americas in Lima, where US President Donald Trump and other leaders of the West were expected on April 13 to 14.
“Faced with this difficult situation that unfairly makes me appear guilty, I think the best thing for the country is for me to resign [from] the presidency of the republic,” he said in the televised address.
He was seated at a polished conference table with his cabinet standing grim-faced behind him.
“I do not want to be an obstacle, for the country to continue suffering with the uncertainty of these recent times,” said the president.
Replacement
He survived a previous impeachment vote last December.
The Peruvian Congress said it would debate the resignation on Thursday and vote on Friday whether to accept it.
Vice President Martin Vizcarra, whowas currently serving as Peru’s ambassador to Canada, was likely to replace Kuczynski to avoid early elections at a time of widespread voter discontent with political parties.
Vizcarra, who was expected in Lima on Thursday, would hold the post until July 2021, when Kuczynski’s mandate was due to end.
Not for sale
Pressure built on Kuczynski to resign throughout Wednesday after the opposition alleged the embattled president was trying to buy votes ahead of the impeachment ballot.
Lawmakers from Keiko Fujimori’s Popular Force party released recordings of her brother, Kenji, and others apparently negotiating public works contracts in return for votes and said it was proof that Kuczynski was trying to buy votes.
“This government thought it could buy everything,” Fujimori said in a tweet.