Peru remains without a president after interim leader Manuel Merino announced his resignation on Sunday and Congress failed to appoint a new head of state during its morning session.
After hours of private negotiations, congressional leaders announced they were recessing without reaching a decision, according to the Associated Press. Congress will reconvene later on Monday to continue deliberations.
The South American country has been roiled by protests since Merino became the president last week. Congress removed the previous president, Martin Vizcarra, on allegations of corruption and claims that he failed to address the coronavirus crisis properly. Protesters argued that Congress attempted a parliamentary coup when it installed Merino, who was second in line to the presidency as the head of Congress.
Despite claims that he had accepted more than $600,000 in bribes, Vizcarra held popular support among a majority of Peruvians. Many viewed him as a president who worked hard to clean up a corrupt political establishment. Before being ousted, Vizcarra said he planned to step down from the presidency after the next presidential election, in April 2021, in order to “face justice.”
Prosecutors are investigating the charges but have not drawn any conclusions. Vizcarra denies the allegations.
Before Merino announced his resignation, a number of political figures urged him to step down. Thirteen of his 19 ministers left his newly formed government, and the president of Congress told Merino to resign immediately.
Peru has two legal options moving forward: Either Congress successfully puts forward a new candidate and approves the new president with a simple majority of legislators, or the country’s high court can step in.
“I think this is the most serious democratic and human rights crisis we have seen since Fujimori was in power,” analyst Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg told the Associated Press. Alberto Fujimori was a leader of Peru from 1990 to 2000. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Congress has few options from among its own ranks if it wants to pick someone who will calm the public. More than 100 of the country’s 130 legislators voted to remove Vizcarra. Following Merino’s resignation, lawmakers first nominated Rocio Silva, a leftist politician. She would have been Peru’s first female president but only garnered the support of 42 legislators.
Peru has the highest per capita COVID-19 mortality rate of anywhere in the world, according to the Associated Press, and the country “has seen one of Latin America’s worst economic contractions.” The International Monetary Fund projected that Peru’s gross domestic product will decline 14% this year.
