Peru’s Congress Ousts President Boluarte Amid Crime Crisis; Congressman José Jerí Assumes Power
October 10, 2025 2:22 am by Andean Air Mail & PERUVIAN TIMESViews: 1440
Peru’s Congress voted overwhelmingly early Friday to remove President Dina Boluarte from office over her handling of rampant crime and insecurity, installing congressional leader José Jerí as the country’s third president in less than three years.
Lawmakers approved the vacancy motion with 122 votes in favor, zero against and no abstentions shortly after midnight, citing “permanent moral incapacity” — a constitutional provision often used for political removals in Peru.
Jerí, 38, took the oath of office at about 1 a.m. Friday before a packed congressional chamber, receiving the presidential sash from the First Vice President of Congress, Fernando Rospigliosi. He will serve until July 2026, with general elections already set for April 12, 2026.
“Today I assume with humility the presidency of the Republic by constitutional succession, to install and lead a transition government, of empathy and national reconciliation,” Jerí told lawmakers in his first address as president. “The main enemy is delinquency and criminal organizations. They are our enemies and as enemies we are going to declare war on them.”
Crime Wave Triggers Political Crisis
The removal came after weeks of mounting pressure on Boluarte over her government’s failure to stem a wave of extortion, kidnappings and violence by criminal gangs. The crisis reached a breaking point on Oct. 8 when gunmen opened fire during a concert by the cumbia band Agua Marina in Lima’s Chorrillos district, wounding five people amid reported extortion threats against the group — a flashpoint for public anger. Even parties that had previously backed Boluarte turned against her. The powerful Fuerza Popular party announced it would support the vacancy.
According to official data cited in Congress, Peru registered about 20,700 extortion complaints between January and September 2025, with year-over-year increases exceeding 50 percent in regions such as Tumbes, Madre de Dios, Puno, Cusco and metropolitan Lima. Lawmakers estimated the economic cost of criminality at over 20 billion soles (about $5.3 billion) annually, near 1.7 percent of GDP.
Boluarte, 62, declined to appear before Congress to defend herself. Her attorney argued lawmakers provided insufficient notice for a fair hearing. As the chamber proceeded, Boluarte delivered a televised address defending her record and criticizing the use of the vacancy mechanism.
“I have not thought of myself but of the more than 34 million Peruvians who deserve growth with democratic stability and a government that works without corruption,” Boluarte said, dressed in white. Flanked by her Cabinet, she defended her record and criticized Congress for removing her with the same votes that had installed her in December 2022 after the ouster of Pedro Castillo.
Major television networks cut away from her speech to broadcast Jerí’s swearing-in ceremony.
Controversial Figure Takes Power
Jerí’s ascent has drawn scrutiny due to multiple controversies around his brief political career. In January, a 31-year-old woman accused him of sexually assaulting her after a New Year’s gathering in Canta, north of Lima.
A civil court granted the complainant protective measures and ordered Jerí to undergo psychological treatment. Prosecutors later opened a probe for alleged disobedience to authority over non-compliance. In August 2025, Supreme Prosecutor Tomás Gálvez archived the sexual assault case against Jerí for insufficient evidence, while issues tied to a co-investigated businessman continued separately. Jerí has denied wrongdoing.
He also faces corruption accusations tied to his tenure as president of Congress’s Budget Commission (2023–2024). Businesswoman Blanca Ríos alleged she paid around 150,000 soles in bribes so an irrigation project in Cajamarca would advance, and she presented bank transfers, messages and audio clips to journalists from Panorama. Jerí has rejected the allegations and said he does not know Ríos.
Despite these controversies, Jerí was elected president of Congress in July with 79 votes, backed by an alliance that included Fuerza Popular, Perú Libre and Acción Popular — the same coalition that ultimately supported his assumption of the presidency after Boluarte’s removal.
Peru’s Revolving Door Presidency
Jerí becomes Peru’s seventh president since 2016, underscoring a persistent pattern of political instability. Two presidents were impeached, two resigned before facing the same fate, one served an interim mandate, and Boluarte herself had taken office after Congress ousted Castillo in December 2022 for attempting to dissolve the legislature. Her tenure was marred from the start by protests met with a harsh crackdown that left dozens dead.
Boluarte also faced multiple investigations while in office, including over alleged “abandonment of duties” tied to cosmetic procedures and the “Rolexgate” affair involving undeclared luxury watches. She denied wrongdoing, saying some items were on loan, even as police and prosecutors raided her home and office in 2024.
With Boluarte’s removal, she loses presidential immunity and becomes more exposed to prosecutions in several cases. On Thursday night, opposition lawmakers formally asked prosecutors to seek a travel ban to keep her in Peru while investigations proceed. Prosecutors have not publicly announced such a measure. Police set up security cordons around her residence in Lima early Friday.
Uncertain Transition Ahead
Jerí pledged in his first remarks to guarantee “clean elections” in 2026 and to seek minimum agreements among Peru’s fractious parties to confront the security crisis. Surveys this year show insecurity as Peruvians’ top concern. Official statistics indicated that around 59 percent of Peruvians identified crime as the principal national problem in early 2025.
Within minutes of removing Boluarte, Congress also rejected a motion to censure Jerí’s leadership board by 61 votes against, 36 in favor and 17 abstentions. Because Jerí moved up to the presidency, First Vice President of Congress Fernando Rospigliosi became acting head of the legislature.
Peru’s economy has been recovering, with GDP growth of 3.3 percent in 2024 and inflation at 1.97 percent that year — among the lowest in Latin America — but the security crisis has battered confidence. The country is slated to return to a bicameral legislature in 2026, a reform intended to improve oversight and reduce volatility.
Jerí, who entered Congress in 2021 as an alternate for former President Martín Vizcarra after Vizcarra was barred from office, will have at most nine months before Peru’s April 2026 elections. Whether he can stabilize governance and curb crime in that short window remains an open question.
(This report includes material generated with AI. All facts and attribution were reviewed by Peruvian Times editor Rick Vecchio.)
