Lima, Peru (AP) – Peru’s Congress on Monday elected a new leader, hoping to become the country’s third president in a week’s time, a sign that the political crisis is on the verge of being resolved.
MPs voted overwhelmingly in favor of Centrist Purple Party engineer Francisco Sagasti as the MLA’s new president. By law, the Congress leader must become the country’s new interim president.
It will now come to Sagasti to heal the wounded nation through a week of upheaval. It is related to the 76-year-old political figure who voted against expelling President Martin Vizcarra from the country, an anti-corruption crusader who is very popular in Peru, which could lead to a ban on protests.
Samuel Rota, president of the Peruvian chapter of Transparency International, said: “What is at stake is the first step in rebuilding trust between the people and the state.
Applause echoed in the assembly hall as Sagasti got the required majority of votes. It was unclear how soon he would be sworn in.
The Latin American country’s political turmoil erupted on Sunday when interim leader Manuel Marino resigned and Congress could not decide whether to replace him. Less than a week after the legislators removed Vizcara and sparked a storm of protests, Peru was plunged into brutality and crisis.
The Congress started the crisis a week ago when MPs voted overwhelmingly to oust Vizkara. Using 19th-century rule, legislators accused him of “permanent moral incompetence”, saying he had taken a ਸਾਲ 630,000 bribe a few years ago as governor of a small province in exchange for two construction contracts.
Prosecutors are investigating the allegations, but Vizcarra has not been charged. He vehemently denies any wrongdoing.
The move has angered many in Peru, who have denounced it as a seizure of illegitimate power by a Congress full of gullible politicians. Half of the MPs are investigating possible crimes, including money laundering and murder. Vizcara wanted to end his parliamentary immunity – it was popular among Peruvians, but not in the legislature.
The lesser-known president of a rice farmer, Manuel Merino, was sworn in last Tuesday when hundreds of Peruvians protested nearby. He promised to hold presidential elections in April. But his cabinet appointments upset many, and the response from the police was overwhelming.
There is much in Peru. Rekha: The country is in the midst of the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak and political analysts say the constitutional crisis has threatened the country’s democracy.
“I think this is the most serious democratic and human rights crisis we’ve ever seen since Fujimori was in power,” said analyst Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg, referring to the peaceful rule of the powerful Alberto Fujimori from 1990 to 2000.
A network of human rights groups said 112 people were injured Saturday in protest of projectiles, dangs and tear gas inhalation. Two died – Jack Pintado, 22, who was shot 11 times in the head, and Jordan Sotello, 24, who was shot four times in the chest near his heart.
In a recorded video shared on Twitter, Peruvian author and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa said, “Two young people were killed by the police for nonsense, stupidity and injustice. “This repression – which is against all of Peru – needs to be stopped.”
The protests that rocked Peru have not been the opposite in recent years, with large numbers of young people indifferent to the country’s notorious politics. They come a year after a wave of anti-government protests around Latin America called for better conditions for the poor and working class.
“We want the voice of the people to be heard,” said protester Fernando Ramirez as he held a spoon against a pot during a week-long protest.
Marino resigned on Sunday after most of his cabinet resigned.
A Harvard University political scientist who has studied Peru in detail said the demonstrations sent a strong message to political wrestlers that they were checking the Peruvian Congress if they tried to seize power by force. Will do
“This is a great day for Peruvian democracy,” Levitsky said.
But after hours of cheers filled the streets with joy at Merino’s departure, the country’s crisis was far from over.
The Congress has comparatively few options for a new president that would please the protesters. An overwhelming majority – 105 out of 130 MPs – voted in favor of removing Vizcara. He was widely expected to choose the new president from among those who voted against Vizcarra’s betrayal.
“You look for someone who is clean – not corrupt, not tainted, not behaving in any ridiculous self-interested manner. You don’t have many options, “said Levitsky.
Following Marino’s resignation, Congress leaders initially nominated Rousseau Silva, a lawyer and poet from the Left Broad Front Party, who could become the country’s first female president. But out of 119 voters, only 42 MLAs supported his nomination.
The crisis cannot be worse. Peru has the highest per capita COVID-19 mortality rate in the world and one of the worst economic contractions in Latin America. The International Monetary Fund’s project is projected to fall by 14% this year.
In the historic district of Lima – the epicenter of the protests – protesters offered flowers and wrote messages of condolence over the deaths of two young men. Many blamed little on those who voted to remove Vizcarra.
“105 people are together in their deaths,” Ross Rodriguez shouted in disguise.
___
Armario was reported from Bogota, Colombia.
