After a weekend of violent protests, Peru's interim President Manuel Merino stepped down. He became the third President to be forced out of office in 3 years, plunging the country into another political crisis.

Gravitas: Peru's interim President resigns after 5-day tenure

Just five days after taking office, Peru's President Manuel Merino submitted his resignation on Sunday, leading to celebrations in the capital Lima post demonstrations against his rule.

"I want to let the whole country know that I'm resigning," said Merino in a televised address.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/thousands-of-peruvians-rally-against-manuel-merino-interim-government-stands-firm-343229">Thousands of Peruvians rally against Manuel Merino, interim government stands firm</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

Following Merino's resignation, Peru will appoint its third president in one week in a new Congress session on Sunday evening.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/perus-surprise-new-leader-stokes-anger-fear-in-a-traumatized-country-342382?fbclid=IwAR0awojjjEg9yF37Txu5s1AagIqD7uN0e3D0lFOxquPxmjRsgWmMsbCbmQ4">Peru’s surprise new leader stokes anger, fear in a traumatized country</a>

Peru has seen some of its largest protests in decades following the impeachment of Merino's predecessor Martin Vizcarra.

The protests were largely peaceful but led to clashes too and in a police crackdown, two demonstrators were killed on Saturday.&nbsp;

Merino remained president for less than a week after Peru's Congress voted on November 9 to remove Vizcarra as president over bribery allegations, which he rejects.&nbsp;

Merino said that the 18 ministers who took office on Thursday would temporarily remain in their posts to avoid a "power vacuum".&nbsp;

His resignation led to noisy celebrations in the capital city, with people banging pots, sounding horns, waving flags and chanting.&nbsp;

However, the political crisis in the country comes at a time when the country is grappling with coronavirus pandemic and is expecting to face the worst economic contraction in a century.&nbsp;

Just five days after taking office, Peru's President Manuel Merino submitted his resignation on Sunday, leading to celebrations in the capital Lima post demonstrations against his rule.

Just five days after taking office, Peru's President Manuel Merino submitted his resignation on Sunday, leading to celebrations in the capital Lima post demonstrations against his rule. "I want to let the whole country know that I'm resigning," said Merino in a televised address. Also read | Thousands of Peruvians rally against Manuel Merino, interim government stands firm Following Merino's resignation, Peru will appoint its third president in one week in a new Congress session on Sunday evening. Also read | Peru’s surprise new leader stokes anger, fear in a traumatized country Peru has seen some of its largest protests in decades following the impeachment of Merino's predecessor Martin Vizcarra. The protests were largely peaceful but led to clashes too and in a police crackdown, two demonstrators were killed on Saturday. Merino remained president for less than a week after Peru's Congress voted on November 9 to remove Vizcarra as president over bribery allegations, which he rejects. Merino said that the 18 ministers who took office on Thursday would temporarily remain in their posts to avoid a "power vacuum". His resignation led to noisy celebrations in the capital city, with people banging pots, sounding horns, waving flags and chanting. However, the political crisis in the country comes at a time when the country is grappling with coronavirus pandemic and is expecting to face the worst economic contraction in a century.

Manuel Merino resigns as President of Peru

Peru's Interim President Manuel Merino, amid nationwide fury over the killing of two protesters during massive pro-democracy demonstrations, has resigned from his chair on Saturday.

Peru: Interim President announces his resignation after 2 protesters' death

Thousands of Peruvians took to the streets again on Saturday in rallies against President Manuel Merino, while his interim government continued to defend as "constitutional" this week´s abrupt ouster of former president Martin Vizcarra.

Protesters jammed many plazas in downtown Lima in the afternoon, with demonstrations beginning peacefully but growing more intense by nightfall.

At least one man was shot dead and three others were injured in the increasingly violent riots, according the Ombudsman`s Office in Lima.

Early in the day, in the central Plaza San Martín, hundreds of mostly young protesters unveiled a massive Peruvian flag and sang the national anthem. Later, a band of hooded protesters confronted police, throwing rocks and fireworks at them, and security forces fired back with tear gas.

The city echoed with sirens, shouts and chants of protesters demanding Merino´s removal.

Earlier, Prime Minister Ántero Flores-Aráoz told reporters that Vizcarra`s removal on corruption charges by the opposition-dominated Congress had been legal. He said Merino had no intention of caving to demands from protesters that he resign.

"This was a constitutional change," Flores-Aráoz said. "We ask people for understanding. We don´t want to descend into chaos and anarchy."

Earlier this week, some of the largest protests in decades roiled Peru´s capital, with dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to tame the unrest, and humans rights groups said their use of force was excessive.

"Given the situation, young people cannot be indifferent, we must demand respect," said Sonia Julca, an economist from the University of Callao. "The people are against this government led by Merino."

Merino, a member of the center-right Popular Action party who had been the head of Congress, moved quickly to swear in a new cabinet this week after Vizcarra was removed on Monday. He has called for calm and promised to stick with a plan for presidential elections in April.

Vizcarra, a politically unaffiliated centrist who is popular with Peruvians, oversaw an anti-graft campaign that led to frequent clashes with Congress in a country that has a history of political upheaval and corruption.

The former president has yet to be found guilty of the corruption charges brought against him during the impeachment hearing prior to his ouster.

Thousands of Peruvians took to the streets again on Saturday in rallies against President Manuel Merino, while his interim government continued to defend as "constitutional" this week´s abrupt ouster of former president Martin Vizcarra.

Thousands of Peruvians took to the streets again on Saturday in rallies against President Manuel Merino, while his interim government continued to defend as "constitutional" this week´s abrupt ouster of former president Martin Vizcarra. Protesters jammed many plazas in downtown Lima in the afternoon, with demonstrations beginning peacefully but growing more intense by nightfall. At least one man was shot dead and three others were injured in the increasingly violent riots, according the Ombudsman`s Office in Lima. Early in the day, in the central Plaza San Martín, hundreds of mostly young protesters unveiled a massive Peruvian flag and sang the national anthem. Later, a band of hooded protesters confronted police, throwing rocks and fireworks at them, and security forces fired back with tear gas. The city echoed with sirens, shouts and chants of protesters demanding Merino´s removal. Earlier, Prime Minister Ántero Flores-Aráoz told reporters that Vizcarra`s removal on corruption charges by the opposition-dominated Congress had been legal. He said Merino had no intention of caving to demands from protesters that he resign. "This was a constitutional change," Flores-Aráoz said. "We ask people for understanding. We don´t want to descend into chaos and anarchy." Earlier this week, some of the largest protests in decades roiled Peru´s capital, with dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to tame the unrest, and humans rights groups said their use of force was excessive. "Given the situation, young people cannot be indifferent, we must demand respect," said Sonia Julca, an economist from the University of Callao. "The people are against this government led by Merino." Merino, a member of the center-right Popular Action party who had been the head of Congress, moved quickly to swear in a new cabinet this week after Vizcarra was removed on Monday. He has called for calm and promised to stick with a plan for presidential elections in April. Vizcarra, a politically unaffiliated centrist who is popular with Peruvians, oversaw an anti-graft campaign that led to frequent clashes with Congress in a country that has a history of political upheaval and corruption. The former president has yet to be found guilty of the corruption charges brought against him during the impeachment hearing prior to his ouster.

Thousands of Peruvians rally against Manuel Merino, interim government stands firm

Mirelis Morales contributed reporting from Lima, Peru, and Isayen Herrera contributed reporting from Caracas, Venezuela.

A devastating pandemic, the deepest economic crisis on record, and now, the fourth president in five years.

Exhausted by this year’s turmoil, Peruvians woke up Tuesday to yet another shock. This time, it was one of their leaders’ making: The country’s deeply disliked Congress had voted Monday night to impeach Martín Vizcarra, a popular, if flawed, president, for “moral incapacity,” just five months before new elections.

By Tuesday morning, just thirteen hours later, Congress had sworn in a new president — Manuel Merino, the little-known rice farmer who had been head of Congress.

And the population was left reeling, astonished and furious at a political system many saw as willing to risk instability in pursuit of petty political disputes instead focusing on the country’s pressing problems.

“All of us Peruvians are disappointed in the people who govern us,” said Andrés Cordero, an unemployed electrician. “They’ve been promising change for a long time and it always ends the same way.”

The spreading national malaise marks a stark turnaround from Peru’s fortunes before the pandemic, when the country posted Latin America’s highest economic growth rates and fell behind Vizcarra’s ambitious attempts to stamp out deep-seated corruption.

Now, Vizcarra has been accused of the same crimes he pledged to combat, becoming Peru’s sixth president in a row to be investigated for corruption, after leaked witness testimonies appeared to show him accepting bribes during his time as a provincial governor.

Vizcarra came to power after the previous president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, resigned in one of several corruption scandals that have ensnared politicians, businessmen, judges and prosecutors in recent years. As Kuczynski’s vice president, Vizcarra stepped into the office.

While polls show that vast majority of Peruvians want Vizcarra to face justice, his swift removal by Congress, before the accusations were proven, has provoked even greater public outrage.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the capital, Lima, on Tuesday to denounce what they called a congressional “coup,” accusing lawmakers of perverting justice for personal benefit in a moment of grave national crisis. They clashed with riot police outside Congress, who dispersed them with tear gas and rubber pellets.

Protests and clashes also erupted in several other cities, according to local media.

“This has been the drop that overflowed the glass of political destabilization,” said Elsa Soldevilla, a 27-year-old student who joined the protest. “If Vizcarra has a crime to pay, let him do it in courts. The Congress doesn’t need to exploit this.”

The popular anger over Vizcarra’s ouster quickly spread to Peru’s other political institutions, undermining the last vestiges of legitimacy of a system that many citizens consider beyond repair. Some at the protests have blamed the country’s top court, which had declined to weigh in on the previous attempt by the Congress to remove Vizcarra — in September, less than two months ago — for an unrelated and also still unproven offense.

The court is still evaluating Vizcarra’s request for clarification on the use of the country’s archaic impeachment clause, which allows lawmakers to remove presidents who they consider morally or mentally unfit for office on grounds of “permanent moral incapacity.” The request was filed in September.

The criticism of Vizcarra’s ouster was amplified by its timing. The former president had eight months left in office and had said he would not seek reelection in the general elections scheduled for April.

He had also promised to face the prosecutors to defend himself against corruption charges after leaving power. In his defense speech in Congress shortly before being impeached, he had accused his opponents of hypocrisy, pointing out that 68 of the country’s 130 congressmen were under investigation for crimes such as corruption or money laundering themselves.

Under Peru’s law, lawmakers enjoy parliamentary immunity, a benefit that Vizcarra had unsuccessfully attempted to remove during his campaign to overhaul the country’s governance.

Vizcarra’s political undoing has been partly of his own doing. By limiting the lawmakers’ time in office to one term in an effort to ostensibly limit corruption, Vizcarra has removed the incentive for responsible and experienced politicians to seek careers in Congress, said Diego Moya-Ocampos, a political risk analyst at the consultancy IHS Markit, in London.

The result has been a raucous, fractious legislature filled with rookie, little-known politicians from a dozen parties, including the political wing of a messianic religious group and supporters of a jailed former military officer who advocate firing squads for corrupt officials.

Merino, the new president, promised to focus on the pandemic and honor the scheduled Apr. 11 election date.

“Today the population looks at us with expectation but also with concern,” he said in his acceptance speech Tuesday. “Our commitment is to carry out a democratic transition.”

But the impeachment left many in Peru dispirited, worried that the country is headed for greater political instability just as it tries to recover from one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, and reopen its battered economy. Peru’s gross domestic product is set to contract 14% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund — the largest decline since the nation began collecting economic statistics in 1951.

David Rivera, a Peruvian political analyst, said the widespread opposition to Vizcarra’s impeachment would likely make it hard for Merino to find qualified professionals to fill key positions in an interim government.

“What serious technocrat or politician is going to want to be a minister with Merino?” he said. “I don’t even want to imagine what this administration is going to be like.”

Lacking legitimacy and popular support, Merino may resort to populist measures to govern, such as lowering sales taxes and allowing citizens to withdraw money from their private insurance schemes, said analysts.

An even larger risk is that the new government will use its short time in office to pass laws benefiting their members’ business interests, said Martín Tanaka, a political scientist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, in Lima.

“The big problem is that in eight months, a lot of damage can be done,” said Tanaka.

Mirelis Morales contributed reporting from Lima, Peru, and Isayen Herrera contributed reporting from Caracas, Venezuela. A devastating pandemic, the deepest economic crisis on record, and now, the fourth president in five years.

Mirelis Morales contributed reporting from Lima, Peru, and Isayen Herrera contributed reporting from Caracas, Venezuela. A devastating pandemic, the deepest economic crisis on record, and now, the fourth president in five years. Exhausted by this year’s turmoil, Peruvians woke up Tuesday to yet another shock. This time, it was one of their leaders’ making: The country’s deeply disliked Congress had voted Monday night to impeach Martín Vizcarra, a popular, if flawed, president, for “moral incapacity,” just five months before new elections. By Tuesday morning, just thirteen hours later, Congress had sworn in a new president — Manuel Merino, the little-known rice farmer who had been head of Congress. And the population was left reeling, astonished and furious at a political system many saw as willing to risk instability in pursuit of petty political disputes instead focusing on the country’s pressing problems. “All of us Peruvians are disappointed in the people who govern us,” said Andrés Cordero, an unemployed electrician. “They’ve been promising change for a long time and it always ends the same way.” The spreading national malaise marks a stark turnaround from Peru’s fortunes before the pandemic, when the country posted Latin America’s highest economic growth rates and fell behind Vizcarra’s ambitious attempts to stamp out deep-seated corruption. Now, Vizcarra has been accused of the same crimes he pledged to combat, becoming Peru’s sixth president in a row to be investigated for corruption, after leaked witness testimonies appeared to show him accepting bribes during his time as a provincial governor. Vizcarra came to power after the previous president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, resigned in one of several corruption scandals that have ensnared politicians, businessmen, judges and prosecutors in recent years. As Kuczynski’s vice president, Vizcarra stepped into the office. While polls show that vast majority of Peruvians want Vizcarra to face justice, his swift removal by Congress, before the accusations were proven, has provoked even greater public outrage. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the capital, Lima, on Tuesday to denounce what they called a congressional “coup,” accusing lawmakers of perverting justice for personal benefit in a moment of grave national crisis. They clashed with riot police outside Congress, who dispersed them with tear gas and rubber pellets. Protests and clashes also erupted in several other cities, according to local media. “This has been the drop that overflowed the glass of political destabilization,” said Elsa Soldevilla, a 27-year-old student who joined the protest. “If Vizcarra has a crime to pay, let him do it in courts. The Congress doesn’t need to exploit this.” The popular anger over Vizcarra’s ouster quickly spread to Peru’s other political institutions, undermining the last vestiges of legitimacy of a system that many citizens consider beyond repair. Some at the protests have blamed the country’s top court, which had declined to weigh in on the previous attempt by the Congress to remove Vizcarra — in September, less than two months ago — for an unrelated and also still unproven offense. The court is still evaluating Vizcarra’s request for clarification on the use of the country’s archaic impeachment clause, which allows lawmakers to remove presidents who they consider morally or mentally unfit for office on grounds of “permanent moral incapacity.” The request was filed in September. The criticism of Vizcarra’s ouster was amplified by its timing. The former president had eight months left in office and had said he would not seek reelection in the general elections scheduled for April. He had also promised to face the prosecutors to defend himself against corruption charges after leaving power. In his defense speech in Congress shortly before being impeached, he had accused his opponents of hypocrisy, pointing out that 68 of the country’s 130 congressmen were under investigation for crimes such as corruption or money laundering themselves. Under Peru’s law, lawmakers enjoy parliamentary immunity, a benefit that Vizcarra had unsuccessfully attempted to remove during his campaign to overhaul the country’s governance. Vizcarra’s political undoing has been partly of his own doing. By limiting the lawmakers’ time in office to one term in an effort to ostensibly limit corruption, Vizcarra has removed the incentive for responsible and experienced politicians to seek careers in Congress, said Diego Moya-Ocampos, a political risk analyst at the consultancy IHS Markit, in London. The result has been a raucous, fractious legislature filled with rookie, little-known politicians from a dozen parties, including the political wing of a messianic religious group and supporters of a jailed former military officer who advocate firing squads for corrupt officials. Merino, the new president, promised to focus on the pandemic and honor the scheduled Apr. 11 election date. “Today the population looks at us with expectation but also with concern,” he said in his acceptance speech Tuesday. “Our commitment is to carry out a democratic transition.” But the impeachment left many in Peru dispirited, worried that the country is headed for greater political instability just as it tries to recover from one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, and reopen its battered economy. Peru’s gross domestic product is set to contract 14% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund — the largest decline since the nation began collecting economic statistics in 1951. David Rivera, a Peruvian political analyst, said the widespread opposition to Vizcarra’s impeachment would likely make it hard for Merino to find qualified professionals to fill key positions in an interim government. “What serious technocrat or politician is going to want to be a minister with Merino?” he said. “I don’t even want to imagine what this administration is going to be like.” Lacking legitimacy and popular support, Merino may resort to populist measures to govern, such as lowering sales taxes and allowing citizens to withdraw money from their private insurance schemes, said analysts. An even larger risk is that the new government will use its short time in office to pass laws benefiting their members’ business interests, said Martín Tanaka, a political scientist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, in Lima. “The big problem is that in eight months, a lot of damage can be done,” said Tanaka.

Peru’s surprise new leader stokes anger, fear in a traumatized country

Peru's Congress on Friday voted to open impeachment proceedings against President Martin Vizcarra for "moral incapacity" over accusations he tried to obstruct a corruption probe against government officials.

The motion was approved by 65 votes, with 36 against and 24 abstentions. Fifty-two votes were required to open the proceedings early next week.

To remove the president, who lacks a party, 87 votes are required. After Vizcarra appears in Congress next Friday to defend himself, the plenary will debate and vote.

Six out of nine parties — representing 95 of the 130 seats in Congress — have backed the motion.

"I'm not going to quit. I do not run," Vizcarra said in a televised address ahead of the vote in which he denied any wrongdoing.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/at-least-13-killed-in-stampede-as-club-goers-flee-at-sight-of-peru-police-322566">Also read:&nbsp;At least 13 killed in stampede as club goers flee at sight of Peru police&nbsp;</a>

"We are facing a plot against democracy," he said, adding that he had nothing to hide but that lawmakers should act "with caution, with responsibility, and to take the decision they deem necessary."

Vizcarra, in power since 2018, came under fire after leaked audio recordings in which he is heard telling aides to hide details of his office's controversial hiring of a popular singer as a paid cultural advisor.&nbsp;

In the event of impeachment, legislative speaker Manuel Merino will act as interim leader until the current presidential term ends in July 2021.

Vizcarra has won popular support for an anti-corruption crusade that has put him at loggerheads with opponents in Congress, including over a reform banning convicted criminals from standing for election.

The impeachment motion is reminiscent of the one that forced the resignation of his predecessor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2018, after he became embroiled in the Odebrecht bribes scandal.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/peru-says-over-900-girls-women-feared-dead-since-pandemic-began-316453">Also read: Peru says over 900 girls, women feared dead since pandemic began</a>

It comes as the country is in the throes of an economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen Peru's second-quarter GDP slashed by 30 per cent.

"The dismissal is very dangerous in these circumstances," political analyst Fernando Rospigliosi told AFP, warning against a change of government in the middle of a crisis and with only seven months to go until a general election.&nbsp;

Prime Minister Walter Martos on Friday denounced the move against the president.&nbsp;

"What Congress is doing right now is to stage a coup d'etat, because it is making an arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution," Martos, a retired army general and number two in the government, told radio RPP.

The case exploded in May when the press discovered that, at the height of the pandemic, the Ministry of Culture had hired singer Richard Cisneros, a little-known local artist who boasted in the media that he had been an advisor to the government, as a speaker and entertainer.&nbsp;

Parliament opened an investigation into the alleged irregular contracts for which Cisneros received $10,000.

Peru's Congress on Friday voted to open impeachment proceedings against President Martin Vizcarra for "moral incapacity" over accusations he tried to obstruct a corruption probe against government officials.

Peru's Congress on Friday voted to open impeachment proceedings against President Martin Vizcarra for "moral incapacity" over accusations he tried to obstruct a corruption probe against government officials. The motion was approved by 65 votes, with 36 against and 24 abstentions. Fifty-two votes were required to open the proceedings early next week. To remove the president, who lacks a party, 87 votes are required. After Vizcarra appears in Congress next Friday to defend himself, the plenary will debate and vote. Six out of nine parties — representing 95 of the 130 seats in Congress — have backed the motion. "I'm not going to quit. I do not run," Vizcarra said in a televised address ahead of the vote in which he denied any wrongdoing. Also read: At least 13 killed in stampede as club goers flee at sight of Peru police "We are facing a plot against democracy," he said, adding that he had nothing to hide but that lawmakers should act "with caution, with responsibility, and to take the decision they deem necessary." Vizcarra, in power since 2018, came under fire after leaked audio recordings in which he is heard telling aides to hide details of his office's controversial hiring of a popular singer as a paid cultural advisor. In the event of impeachment, legislative speaker Manuel Merino will act as interim leader until the current presidential term ends in July 2021. Vizcarra has won popular support for an anti-corruption crusade that has put him at loggerheads with opponents in Congress, including over a reform banning convicted criminals from standing for election. The impeachment motion is reminiscent of the one that forced the resignation of his predecessor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2018, after he became embroiled in the Odebrecht bribes scandal. Also read: Peru says over 900 girls, women feared dead since pandemic began It comes as the country is in the throes of an economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen Peru's second-quarter GDP slashed by 30 per cent. "The dismissal is very dangerous in these circumstances," political analyst Fernando Rospigliosi told AFP, warning against a change of government in the middle of a crisis and with only seven months to go until a general election. Prime Minister Walter Martos on Friday denounced the move against the president. "What Congress is doing right now is to stage a coup d'etat, because it is making an arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution," Martos, a retired army general and number two in the government, told radio RPP. The case exploded in May when the press discovered that, at the height of the pandemic, the Ministry of Culture had hired singer Richard Cisneros, a little-known local artist who boasted in the media that he had been an advisor to the government, as a speaker and entertainer. Parliament opened an investigation into the alleged irregular contracts for which Cisneros received $10,000.

Peru's Congress votes to open impeachment proceedings against President

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