Peruvian Parliament Chooses Third President In A Week

Peru’s parliament on Monday elected a new leader, Francisco Sagasti, who is now set to become the country’s third president in a week.

The 76-year-old centre-right lawmaker will lead the country as a caretaker until elections due in April.The South American country was plunged into political chaos last week when president Martin Vizcarra was impeached for corruption and replaced by interim president Manuel Merino.

Merino resigned on Sunday, just five days after his appointment, following violent protests against the ouster of his predecessor in which at least two people were killed and many injured.

“The whole of the parliamentary leadership will do everything possible to restore hope to citizens, to show them that they can trust us, to show them that we are responsible and can work together,” said Sagasti, who is to be inaugurated as president on Tuesday.

The former engineer, who was first elected to parliament this year, faces an uphill task to convince Peruvians of the trustworthiness of lawmakers, who are widely regarded as corrupt.

He has previously held positions at the United Nations, the World Bank and the Organization of American States and was among the hostages when the MRTA guerilla organization seized the residence of the Japanese ambassador to Lima for months in December 1996.

Vizcarra was removed from office last Monday in a vote of no-confidence by lawmakers, after he was accused of taking 2.3 million soles (636,000 dollars) in bribes from a construction company during his time as governor of the Moquegua region from 2011 to 2014. He denied the allegations.

He had butted heads with parliament many times during his tenure, accusing lawmakers, around half of whom are currently being investigated over various allegations, of seeking to impede his anti-corruption drive.The political crisis has hit Peru at a particularly difficult time.

The country has one of the highest coronavirus fatality rates and its economy has also suffered, with the International Monetary Fund estimating its gross domestic product will drop by 13.9 per cent this year.