President Dina Boluate comes to power in December 2022.
Lima, Peru:
Peru’s embattled government will ask Congress for a vote of confidence on Wednesday, conflicting with the country’s myriad scandals: how the president owns a collection of expensive Rolex watches and jewelry.
Gustavo Adrianzen was appointed a month ago after his predecessor resigned amid a scandal in which he allegedly provided political favors to his much younger lover.
Like any new prime minister, Adrianzen must go to parliament to gain approval to continue as prime minister.
But the scheduled confidence vote came in the same week that six ministers resigned after police raids on President Dina Boluate’s home and offices, making it a key litmus test of support for her fragile government.
If lawmakers reject a vote of confidence in Adrianson, he will have to step down.
Such an outcome would only deepen turmoil in Peru, which is in office for its sixth president in eight years.
Boluate, 61, who ranks last in the polls, is under investigation for allegedly enriching herself illegally and failing to declare her luxury watches, a scandal dubbed “Rolexgate” by local media.
On the eve of the vote, Attorney General Juan Villena announced an expanded investigation into Bolluate’s possession of a “Cartier bracelet worth $56,000” and other jewelry worth more than $500,000. About $250,000 in bank deposits are also under investigation.
Congress decides
Boluarte came to power in December 2022 after former President Pedro Castillo tried to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, leading to Boluarte’s arrest and violent protests calling for her to step down and hold a new election. election.
She also faces a constitutional complaint over her crackdown on protests that left more than 50 people dead.
Her approval rating is about 10%.
No watches were found in the raid and the prosecutor’s office has ordered her to produce them when she testifies on Friday.
Under the Constitution, if she is indicted in the Rolex case, a trial would not be held until her term ends in July 2026 or she is impeached.
The Peruvian constitution gives Congress huge power to remove the president, and impeachment can be completed with only 87 votes out of 130 members.
An impeachment vote could target a vague “moral incapacity” provision that does not require lawmakers to prove legal wrongdoing.
As a result, “Congress will decide whether she remains president,” said analyst Augusto Alvarez Roderich.
Left-wing MPs have tabled three motions to impeach Boluate – the latest of which started on Monday – but have not yet reached the stage of debate.
Congress is controlled by mostly right-wing parties that support Boluate.
Analyst Alvarez, also a columnist for La Repubblica, said impeachment was unlikely because Congress would prefer to “avoid the risk of a snap election.”
“The main forces in Congress intend to maintain the status quo as long as possible,” said Carlos Meléndez, a political scientist at Chile’s Diego Portales University.
But he said it would be “a miracle” if Boluate could complete his term because “no one wants to be an ally of an unpopular president” with the 2026 election coming up.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
