Peru’s President Warns of Unrest if He’s Impeached Today
Peru Leader Denies New Accusations Hours Before Impeachment Vote
(Bloomberg) -- Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra warned that the country will be plunged into damaging instability if lawmakers vote for his impeachment on Monday.
In an address to lawmakers before they debate his ouster over bribery allegations, the president said the impeachment process five months from a general election is a threat to democracy as well as to the economic recovery.
Ousting the head of state would have “unforeseen consequences” and plunge the country into “greater unrest and instability,” he said.
Vizcarra is accused of taking 2.3 million soles ($641,000) in bribes from companies building infrastructure projects in the Moquegua region, where he was governor from 2011 to 2014. He denies receiving kickbacks and reiterated that he’s ready to cooperate with prosecutors investigating the case.
Congress is due to start debating his ouster from 1:30 p.m. in Lima.
If the motion obtains the support of 87 of the chamber’s 130 lawmakers, Vizcarra will have to resign. The head of congress, Manuel Merino, would govern until the general election in 2021.
The president’s position was weakened in the last few hours after several local media outlets published excerpts of text messages between him and a former cabinet minister in which they appear to discuss meeting with construction executives alleged to have paid him bribes. The reports said the text messages also suggest that he may have had contacts with the opposition during an attempt to impeach his predecessor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2018, something which he has denied. In a statement from his office, Vizcarra said the reports showed nothing illegal and are designed to damage the population’s trust in his government.
Hans Troyes, a lawmaker with the Popular Action party, the biggest in congress, said he remained opposed to impeachment, and called for the latest allegations to be investigated by the courts.
“We have to respect the rule of law and the institutions,” he told RPP radio. “We can’t keep generating uncertainty, and more political crises.”
Recent opinion polls have suggested most Peruvians oppose impeachment and want Vizcarra to see out his term.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.