Recently, Peru found itself immersed in an announced political crisis, which erupted on November 9 with the convocation of the legislative congress to a debate to remove former president Martín Vizcarra, through a motion of vacancy due to moral incapacity, naming as President to the then President of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, Manuel Merino.
This drastic measure generated chaos in the population, causing great tension and uncertainty among Peruvians, which, in turn, unleashed a series of rejection marches, mainly led by young people, against the general political situation, since the dismissal seemed be a political strategy of parliamentarians. These marches demanded the resignation of Mr. Merino and had a very strong police repression, which culminated in the lives of two young people, who died in the midst of these legitimate and peaceful protests.
Faced with this situation, the successor and parliamentary head Manuel Merino announced his resignation on Sunday, November 15, five days after taking office, due to the massive protests against him and after the congress had urged him to resign from the presidency, although if he had not done so, he would have been removed as well.
After the resignation of Mr. Manuel Merino, the Board of Directors of Congress appointed Mr. Francisco Sagasti as the new president, the third to hold the position in just one week, and who must complete the current term of government, which ends on July 28, 2021, with the challenge of culminating in a political crisis that drove thousands of outraged citizens to the streets.
However, this crisis that is being experienced in the country is not recent, but has been settling for decades and has to do with structural problems of the country’s democracy, although in the last 20 years, the seven presidents who were in the position, they have been involved in corruption scandals, investigations, human rights violations, clashes between the legislative and executive powers, among others. For this reason, Peru is in a moment of political and institutional instability that does not stop in the midst of an ongoing health and economic crisis.