What led to the impeachment of Peru's Boluarte?: Video
Peru’s political crisis reached a boiling point on Thursday night as Congress voted to impeach President Dina Boluarte, blaming her for failing to tackle an unprecedented surge in violent crime and for becoming the most unpopular leader in the country’s modern history.
The late-night session, broadcast live on Peru’s Congress Channel, ended with 124 votes in favour of her removal, well beyond the threshold required. Lawmakers invoked a constitutional clause allowing them to declare the presidency vacant due to “permanent moral incapacity.”
Boluarte’s downfall came after months of mounting outrage over rising criminal violence and deepening corruption scandals. The trigger was a shooting at a cumbia concert in Lima, which left several musicians injured and symbolised her government’s failure to control extortion networks and contract killings that have terrorised Peruvians.
In the past year alone, extortion cases have soared to over 2,000 a month, with dozens of bus drivers and small business owners killed in attacks linked to organised crime. Boluarte’s repeated declarations of emergency and police crackdowns failed to stem the violence — or restore public trust.
Her approval rating had collapsed from 21 per cent to as low as 2 per cent, alienating even the conservative and centrist parties that once backed her coalition. “This session is a mere formality,” said Popular Renewal congresswoman Patricia Chirinos during the debate. “Dina Boluarte is leaving. The countdown has begun.”
As pressure grew, Boluarte faced accusations ranging from accepting luxury Rolex watches as bribes to abandoning her duties for cosmetic surgery. She denied all wrongdoing, but the scandals fed perceptions of arrogance and detachment in a country struggling with hunger, unemployment and insecurity.
When invited to appear before Congress to defend herself, Boluarte failed to attend. Lawmakers proceeded without her, voting unanimously to remove her from office. With no vice president in place, Congress President José Jeri was sworn in as interim head of state until elections scheduled for April 2026 — unless Parliament chooses a new leader beforehand.
Boluarte’s presidency began in 2022 after the ousting of Pedro Castillo, her leftist predecessor, who was arrested for attempting to dissolve Congress. Her decision to remain in power rather than call early elections, as she once promised, sparked deadly protests that left 49 civilians dead — a tragedy that continues to haunt her administration.
Analysts say her removal reflects not just public anger at crime and corruption, but a systemic collapse of political credibility. Peru’s recent history reads like a cycle of collapse: six former presidents have been jailed in the past two decades, and nearly every living ex-president has faced charges of corruption or abuse of power.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
