Peru's Congress removes interim President Jose Jeri

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Peru's Congress voted Tuesday to remove interim President Jose Jeri from office after 130 days in power, less than two months before general elections, in a move that extends the country's prolonged political instability.

Lawmakers ousted Jeri by censuring him in his parallel role as president of Congress, a decision that automatically ended his presidency under Peru's constitutional succession rules.

The vote passed 75-24, with three abstentions. Jeri previously had denounced what he described as a conspiracy against him and accused political opponents of seeking to destabilize the country.

Before the vote, Somos Peru, Jeri's political party, attempted to halt consideration of the seven censure motions filed against him and delay proceedings until March. The parliamentary majority rejected that maneuver and instead approved a resolution to vote directly on censure without debate, according to RPP Noticias.

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Jeri assumed the presidency in October 2025 after the removal of Dina Boluarte, serving as head of Congress in line with Peru's succession framework. Investigations into his conduct and declining approval ratings weakened his political backing, local newspaper La Republica reported.

According to local media reports, the crisis intensified after revelations that Jeri held unregistered meetings not listed on his official agenda with two controversial Chinese businessmen.

One reportedly holds multimillion-dollar state contracts and has been linked to construction firms accused of securing public works through bribes. The other has faced legal proceedings for trafficking illegal timber from the Amazon region.

Prosecutors also opened a preliminary investigation into alleged influence peddling tied to the hiring of nine young women in public institutions after meetings with Jeri at the presidential palace. Those accusations allowed opposition lawmakers to gather 78 signatures to present a censure motion against him as congressional president, triggering his automatic removal from the presidency once approved.

Peru has faced persistent political turbulence over the past decade. Six recent presidents have either confronted removal proceedings or ended up in prison, highlighting deep institutional volatility.

Analysts often point to frequent use of constitutional mechanisms such as presidential vacancy on grounds of "moral incapacity" and censure votes against congressional leadership, developments that have made the presidency particularly fragile.

Jeri's removal activates the constitutional succession mechanism. Under parliamentary procedure, Congress must convene to elect a new congressional president, eighth in a decade, who will assume the presidency on an interim basis until the scheduled transfer of power July 28, Infobae reported.

Congress President Fernando Rospigliosi said lawmakers will elect Jeri's successor Wednesday.