VP to step into Kuczynski’s void
LIMA: Peru’s vice-president, Martin Vizcarra, catapulted from the relative obscurity of a diplomatic post in Canada, is expected to be sworn-in as president to replace Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, forced to resign over corruption allegations.
Mr Vizcarra, ambassador to Canada as well as being his country’s first vicepresident, was due to arrive in Lima to be sworn-in before Congress after press time last night.
“I am indignant at the current situation, like the majority of Peruvians,” he said on Twitter, adding that he is “at the disposal of the country” before flying to Lima.
Mr Vizcarra, 55, stepped forward to fill the gap left by Mr Kuczynski’s resignation and avoid the need for early elections at a time of widespread voter discontent after a series of political scandals.
He would hold the post until July 2021, when Mr Kuczynski’s mandate was due to end.
Meanwhile, instead of an expected impeachment vote for Mr Kuczynski, Peruvian lawmakers were debating the 79-year-old’s resignation late into Thursday night. They were to vote yesterday on whether to accept it and forego the need for an impeachment.
“This is not a happy day for the country. It is not a day we are proud of. It is a difficult and complicated day,” opposition MP Victor Andres Belaunde told the Congress.
Outgoing Economy Minister Claudia Cooper said Mr Vizcarra would inherit “an economy with growth that is the highest in the region”, Ms Cooper resigned in solidarity with Mr Kuczynski.
Analysts predict Peru’s economy will grow by more than 2% this year.
Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s said Peru’s ratings were not immediately affected by the resignation. But it said Mr Vizcarra “will need to forge alliances in the Congress to avoid recurrent conflicts and move ahead with the government’s existing spending agenda”.
Mr Kuczynski stepped down when it became clear he could not survive the impeachment vote, over his links to Brazil’s construction giant Odebrecht.
Odebrecht revealed in December that it had paid nearly US$5 million for advice from companies linked to him when he was minister.
The Brazilian company has admitted that it made campaign contributions between 2006 and 2011 to the last four presidents.
A vote to reject the resignation would mean Congress is to going ahead with the impeachment vote, which would be a humiliation for Mr Kuczynski, popularly known by his initials, PPK.
The situation echoes what happened to his disgraced predecessor Alberto Fujimori at the end of his decade-long presidency in 2000.
Congress impeached Mr Fujimori on the grounds of “permanent moral incapacity”, bringing to an end weeks of political drama.
Mr Fujimori had resigned but this was rejected by Congress, which chose instead to punish the ex-strongman. By resigning on the eve of an impeachment vote, Mr Kuczynski was hoping to avoid the same fate.