First impeachment of Martín Vizcarra
President Martín Vizcarra responding to calls for impeachment on 10 September 2020
AccusedMartín Vizcarra, president of Peru
ProponentsManuel Merino, president of the Congress of Peru
DateSeptember 11, 2020 (2020-09-11) to September 18, 2020 (2020-09-18)
OutcomeAcquitted by Congress, remains in office
ChargesAdopted: "moral incapacity" under Article 113 § 2 of the Constitution of Peru

The impeachment process against Martín Vizcarra began in the Congress of Peru on 11 September 2020 when Congress initiated proceedings against Vizcarra on grounds of "moral incapacity", accusing him of influence peddling after audio recordings were released by an opposition legislator alleging that Vizcarra's political decisions were swayed by an obscure singer.

Vizcarra was impeached on 11 September 2020. He was eventually acquitted by Congress on 18 September 2020.

Timeline

This article is part of
a series about
Martín Vizcarra
Pre-presidency
President of Peru
Vice President
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Martín Vizcarra's signature

Background

Martín Vizcarra was elected as First Vice President of Peru in a 2016 general election, running with Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of the Peruanos Por el Kambio party. On 23 March 2018, Vizcarra was sworn into office as president of Peru following the resignation of President Kuczynski.[1][2] Upon being sworn into office, Vizcarra stated "we've had enough", vowing to combat corruption as president.[3]

Throughout Vizcarra's tenure, he faced opposition from the Congress of Peru.[4] He initially faced opposition from the Fujimorist congress when pushing for the constitutional referendum in 2018, an election that resulted with laws prohibiting the private funding of political campaigns and a ban on reelecting lawmakers.[5][6][7] Into 2019, the Fujimorist congress continued to delay Vizcarra's reforms, with Vizcarra later dissolving the congress after instituting a motion of no confidence, saying it was "clear the democracy of our nation is at risk".[8][9]

A legislative election was held later on 26 January 2020 which replaced the dissolved congress, with centrist parties replacing the Fujimorist majority in congress.[10] Analysts Diego Pereira and Lucila Barbeito of JPMorgan Chase & Co described the new congress as being "even more antagonistic to the [Vizcarra] government than the previous one"[11] while Americas Quarterly wrote that the four main right-wing parties of congress – Alliance for Progress, Podemos Perú, Popular Action and Union for Peru – feared Vizcarra's anti-corruption measures on campaign financing, political transparency and the participation of convicted persons in government.[4]

As Peru's economy declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, Vizcarra faced increased political pressure from the newly inaugurated congress presided by Manuel Merino, with the majority of the legislative body being controlled by those opposing Vizcarra.[11] Finally on 5 July 2020, Vizcarra proposed a referendum to be held during the 2021 Peruvian general election to remove parliamentary immunity,[12] though congress quickly responded by assembling that same night to pass their own immunity bill that contained proposals to remove immunity from the president, constitutional court and the human rights ombudsman while also strengthening some instances of parliamentary immunity.[13]

Cisneros tapes

Since early 2020, investigations began surrounding a contract for a little-known singer by the name of Richard Cisneros to perform speeches for the Ministry of Culture.[11] It was alleged that an inexperienced Cisneros was able to receive payments totaling US$50,000 due to contacts in the Government Palace.[11] Investigators searched offices in the Government Palace on 1 June 2020 regarding the alleged irregularities.[11]

According to IDL-Reporteros, lobbyist Karelim López provided opposition lawmaker Edgar Alarcon audio recordings.[14][15] On 10 September 2020, Alarcon, who faced possible parliamentary immunity revocation related to alleged acts of corruption, released audio recordings purporting that Vizcarra acted with "moral incapacity".[16][17] The recordings allegedly contain audio of Vizcarra instructing his staff to say that he met with Cisneros only on a limited number of occasions and audio of Cisneros saying that he influenced Vizcarra's rise to office and decision to dissolve congress.[16][17]

Vizcarra responded to the release of the recordings stating "I am not going to resign. I am not running away" and that the "audios have been edited and maliciously manipulated; as you can see, they purposely seek to turn a job-related claim into a criminal or political act, wanting to take words out of context and intend to accuse me of non-existent situations. Nothing is further from reality".[17]

Vote on impeachment proceedings

In a vote on 11 September 2020, impeachment proceedings against Vizcarra were approved by congress; 65 voted for, 36 voted against and 24 abstained.[11]

Vote on impeaching President Martín Vizcarra in the Congress of the Republic[18]
Ballot 11 September 2020
Absentees
5 / 130
Required majority 52 out of 130 (two fifths of the legal number of legislators)
Yes
65 / 130
No
36 / 130
Abstentions
24 / 130

Merino reports

Peru's democracy is, unfortunately, sinking further and further into crisis, ... The removal of the president is a really big deal, and it requires serious deliberation, public debate and investigation. There has been none.

Steve Levitsky[19]

President of Congress Manuel Merino was criticized by critics regarding how he hastily pushed for impeachment proceedings against Vizcarra.[4] If Vizcarra were to be removed from office, Merino would assume the presidential office given his position in congress and due to the absence of vice presidents for Vizcarra.[lower-alpha 1][4]

On 12 September 2020, renowned reporter Gustavo Gorriti wrote that Merino had contacted the Commanding General of the Peruvian Navy, Fernando Cerdán, notifying him that he was going to attempt to impeach Vizcarra and was hoping to assume the presidency.[26] Minister of Defense Jorge Chávez confirmed that Merino had tried to establish support with the Peruvian military.[26] A second report was later released that Merino had contacted officials throughout Peru's government while preparing to create a transitional cabinet.[4][27] Following the release of these reports, support for impeaching Vizcarra decreased among members of congress.[4]

Vizcarra counters proceedings

On 14 September, President Vizcarra filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court of Peru to block the 18 September impeachment vote, stating to during a press conference, "Why has the president of Congress communicated with top military officials, and even planned pseudo-cabinets who would take over? That is conspiracy, gentlemen."[28] Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Lopez also released a statement that Vizcarra's government had prepared to call upon the Organization of American States' Inter-American Democratic Charter if Vizcarra were to be impeached, with the charter stating "when the government of a member state considers that its democratic political institutional process or its legitimate exercise of power is at risk, it may request assistance from the Secretary General or the Permanent Council for the strengthening and preservation of its democratic system".[29]

Vote on vacating office

On 18 September, Vizcarra gave a speech for twenty minutes after appearing before congress. Following ten hours of deliberation, 32 members of congress supported the motion to remove Vizcarra from the office of the presidency, 78 voted against his removal and 15 abstained from voting, with 87 votes of 130 being required for his removal.[30][31]

Vote on vacating President Martín Vizcarra in the Congress of the Republic[30]
Ballot 18 September 2020
Absentees
5 / 130
Required majority 87 out of 130 (two thirds of the legal number of legislators)
Yes
32 / 130
No
78 / 130
Abstentions
  • • PP (9)
  • • FA (5)
  • • APP (1)
15 / 130

Reactions

In a joint statement released through the Andean Community, presidents Jeanine Áñez of Bolivia, Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia and Lenín Moreno of Ecuador shared "deep concern about the events that take place in Peru, threatening its stability and governance," called for the avoidance of "actions that may jeopardize the legitimate exercise of power and the democratic institutional political process" and urged for "a prompt solution to this situation, based on dialogue, within the framework of the current constitutional order and in strict adherence to the balance of powers".[32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Peru has two Vice Presidents, a First and Second Vice President. The most recent holders of the office of First and Second Vice President were Vizcarra and Mercedes Aráoz, respectively, who were elected in the 2016 election.[20][21] Vizcarra left the office of First Vice President vacant after he succeeded Kuzcynski as President, leaving Aráoz as the sole Vice President,[20] while Aráoz resigned as Second Vice President on 1 October 2019 after the Congress of Peru named Aráoz acting President the day before after having declared Vizacarra temporarily unfit for office,[20][21][22] despite Congress having itself been dissolved earlier that day by President Vizcarra, resulting in a constitutional crisis.[20][21][22][23][24] However, her resignation was not official until it was accepted on 7 May 2020 by the new Congress of Peru sworn on 16 March 2020, since in Peru the resignation of the vice president has to be accepted by Congress and that institution was not celebrating meetings given its dissolution.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Quigley, John (21 March 2018). "Vizcarra Set to Become Peru's New President Facing Daunting Challenges". Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  2. ↑ Collyns, Dan (22 March 2018). "Peru president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigns amid corruption scandal". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Martin Vizcarra Sworn In As Peru's New President". NPR. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Burt, Jo-Marie (17 September 2020). "Vizcarra May Survive. But Peru's Politics Look Fragile". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  5. ↑ "Vargas Llosa: "Las credenciales de Martín Vizcarra son bastante buenas"". La República (in Spanish). 13 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  6. ↑ Tegel, Simeon (12 August 2018). "Corruption scandals have ensnared 3 Peruvian presidents. Now the whole political system could change". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Briceno, Franklin (9 December 2018). "Exit polling indicates Peruvians vote to fight corruption". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  8. ↑ "Peru's president dissolves Congress to push through anti-corruption reforms". The Guardian. 1 October 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  9. ↑ Briceno, Franklin (27 September 2019). "Peru leader pushes vote that could let him dissolve congress". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  10. ↑ "The difficulty of reforming Peru". The Economist. 30 January 2020. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Quigley, John (10 September 2020). "Peru's Congress to Consider Impeaching President Over Tapes". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "Peru President to call referendum on elimination of parliamentary immunity". Andina (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  13. ↑ Tegel, Simeon (20 July 2020). "In Peru, Congress' Move Against Immunity Isn't What It Seems". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  14. ↑ "El entorno de los brujos". IDL Reporteros. 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  15. ↑ "¿Cuál es la relación entre Karelim López y Karem Roca?". La Republica (in Spanish). 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  16. 1 2 "Presidente de Perú: "no voy a renunciar. Yo no me corro"". Deutsche Welle (in European Spanish). 11 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  17. 1 2 3 "Peru: President Vizcarra denounces plot against democracy". Andina (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  18. ↑ "Congreso rechaza moción de vacancia presidencial contra PPK [FOTOS]". Perú.21. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  19. ↑ "Peru's Martin Vizcarra faces impeachment for 'moral incapacity'". Al Jazeera. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Disolución del Congreso en Perú: quién es Mercedes Aráoz, que renunció tras ser nombrada 'presidenta en funciones' por el Parlamento peruano para sustituir a Vizcarra" [Dissolution of Congress in Peru: who is Mercedes Aráoz, who resigned after being named "acting president" by the Peruvian Parliament to replace Vizcarra]. BBC Mundo (in Spanish). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  21. 1 2 3 "Disolución del Congreso en Perú: 4 claves para entender el enfrentamiento entre Vizcarra y el Parlamento (y lo que puede pasar ahora)" [Dissolution of Congress in Peru: 4 keys to understanding the confrontation between Vizcarra and Parliament (and what can happen now)]. BBC Mundo (in Spanish). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  22. 1 2 "Disolución del Congreso de Perú: las dudas sobre la legalidad de la decisión de Vizcarra de disolver la cámara y sobre la suspensión temporal del presidente" [Dissolution of the Congress of Peru: doubts about the legality of Vizcarra's decision to dissolve the chamber and about the temporary suspension of the president]. BBC Mundo (in Spanish). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  23. ↑ "Disolución del Congreso en Perú: renuncia Mercedes Aráoz, nombrada "presidenta en funciones" por el Parlamento en sustitución de Vizcarra" [Dissolution of Congress in Peru: Mercedes Aráoz, appointed "acting president" by Parliament to replace Vizcarra, resigns]. BBC Mundo (in Spanish). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  24. ↑ Aráoz Fernández, Mercedes [@MecheAF] (October 2, 2019). "He decidido renunciar irrevocablemente al cargo de Vicepresidenta Constitucional de la República. Las razones las explico en la carta adjunta. Espero que mi renuncia conduzca a la convocatoria de elecciones generales en el más breve plazo por el bien del país" [I have decided to irrevocably resign from the post of Constitutional Vice President of the Republic. The reasons are explained in the attached letter. I hope that my resignation will lead to the calling of general elections in the shortest possible time for the good of the country.] (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  25. ↑ "Congreso acepta renuncia de Mercedes Aráoz a la segunda vicepresidencia de la República" [Congress accepts the resignation of Mercedes Aráoz to the second vice-presidency of the Republic]. Gestión (in Spanish). 7 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  26. 1 2 "El Gobierno peruano califica de "golpismo" la moción de censura contra Vizcarra". ABC (in Spanish). 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  27. ↑ "Incháustegui confirma que allegados a Acción Popular lo contactaron para integrar gabinete de Merino [VIDEO]". La República (in Spanish). 2020-09-15. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  28. ↑ "Facing impeachment, Peru's Vizcarra goes on the offensive". France 24. 2020-09-14. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  29. ↑ "Peru's FA Min: We are ready to invoke Inter-American Democratic Charter". Andina (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  30. 1 2 "Peru's President Martin Vizcarra survives impeachment vote". Al Jazeera. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  31. ↑ "Peru President Vizcarra survives impeachment vote". Bangkok Post. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  32. ↑ "Andean Community expresses concern over events affecting governance in Peru". Andina (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-17.
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