Peru’s Congress Considering Impeaching President Over Tapes
Peru President Says Opponents Seeking to Remove Him From Power
(Bloomberg) -- Peru’s congress began debating a motion that seeks to start impeachment proceedings against President Martin Vizcarra after lawmakers accused him of lying and seeking to obstruct a graft probe involving government officials.
Following the debate, lawmakers will vote on the motion, which calls for Vizcarra’s ouster on the grounds of “moral incapacity.” If approved, at least three days have to pass before a final vote.
Vizcarra’s opponents need 52 votes to start impeachment proceedings and 87 votes to force him out. The motion was signed by six out of nine parties with 95 votes in the 130-seat congress, reported El Comercio newspaper.
Vizcarra’s cabinet chief Walter Martos said the government will use all legal measures available to defend the president. Congress is trying to upset the democratic order using an “arbitrary interpretation of the constitution,” he told RPP radio. “What congress is doing is practically a coup.”
If Vizcarra is impeached, the head of congress Manuel Merino will take over until elections are held. Peru is due to hold a general election in April and Vizcarra has said he won’t seek a new term.
The political turmoil threatens to deepen a crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, which caused Peru’s gross domestic product to contract 30% in the second quarter, the deepest slump of any major economy. It follows a series of clashes between the executive and congress, which is entirely in the hands of the opposition.
Earlier this week, lawmakers also presented a motion to remove Finance Minister Maria Antonieta Alva from her post, alleging she didn’t do enough to prevent the economic slump during the pandemic.
Vizcarra has maintained the support of a majority of the population while antipathy toward Congress is high, according to Abhijit Surya, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Also, the evidence against Vizcarra is far from conclusive, making his ouster unlikely, he said.
If Vizcarra is forced out of office, “the public backlash is likely to be severe, leading to a major political and institutional crisis,” Surya wrote in a report.
Peru’s currency plunged while government dollar bonds due in 2050 fell 1.6 cent, heading to their lowest close since July 20.
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Leaked Recordings
Prosecutors and lawmakers earlier this year began probing alleged irregularities in the government’s hiring of a little-known singer to give motivational talks at the Culture Ministry. The singer, Richard Cisneros, is alleged to have used contacts in the presidential palace to obtain contracts totaling about $50,000, despite lacking experience.
Vizcarra, who doesn’t have a party to defend him in congress, said in a Thursday televised address that the release of the tapes was part of a plot by political opponents to remove him from power.
“If you want to impeach me, here I am. With my head held high and with my conscience clear,” he said. “Nothing of what was presented today, illegally, constitutes grounds for impeachment. I’m not going to resign. I don’t run away.”
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Vizcarra’s predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, resigned after an opposition lawmaker released videos that showed his allies apparently negotiating votes to stave off his impeachment. Since replacing him in 2018, Vizcarra has frequently clashed with the opposition-controlled congress after he pushed for reforms designed to stamp out corruption in the judicial and political systems.
Prosecutors investigating the case searched offices at the presidential palace in Lima on June 1. Vizcarra turned down a request to testify to a congressional committee last week.
In his national address, the president said that while he knew Cisneros, he had nothing to do with his hiring. He said the tapes played in congress earlier on Thursday had been “edited and manipulated.”
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