LIMA (Reuters) -Dina Boluarte’s dramatic midnight removal on Friday makes her the sixth consecutive president in Peru to fail to complete a full term in office.
Peru, has faced ongoing political crises over the decades with a long list of fleeting presidents ousted amid impeachments, resignations, or accusations of corruption over the past three decades.
The last president to complete a full term was Ollanta Humala who served from 2011 to 2016, but received a 15-year prison sentence for money laundering earlier this year.
Seven presidents have served since, including Jose Jeri, who was sworn in after Boluarte:
DINA BOLUARTE (December 2022-October 2025)
Boluarte, 63, was vice president before replacing then-leftist president Pedro Castillo in December 2022. Castillo was removed from office after attempting to shut down Congress.
Boluarte, the country’s first female president, faced an immediate wave of protests, primarily from Indigenous communities, that left dozens of protesters dead. Boluarte faced a fierce backlash and is being investigated by the prosecutor’s office for abuse of power.
Boluarte’s approval rating has hovered between 2% and 4% since last year amid growing public anger over rising crime and corruption allegations.
PEDRO CASTILLO (July 2021-December 2022)
Castillo, 55, a former teacher and trade unionist, drew strong support in poorer rural areas to win a tight election with a Marxist party. But his approval quickly fell and he faced constant opposition from a fragmented Congress with a strong conservative bloc.
Castillo survived two impeachment votes before finally being ousted after he attempted to dissolve Congress, prompting accusations of a “coup d’état.”
Castillo is in prison while facing legal proceedings.
FRANCISCO SAGASTI (November 2020-July 2021)
Sagasti became Peru’s third president in a week following a series of political crises. From the centrist Morado party, Sagasti was elected by Congress to defuse a sharp political crisis. Sagasti did not run for president during the 2021 election and remained in office until Castillo assumed power.
MANUEL MERINO (November 10-15, 2020)
Merino, then the president of Congress, took office in November 2020 after Martín Vizcarra was ousted, sparking protests that left two dead and dozens injured. The deaths triggered the resignation of more than half of his cabinet.
The country’s fragmented Congress agreed to demand Merino’s “immediate” resignation after less than a week in office.
MARTIN VIZCARRA (March 2018-November 2020)
Vizcarra was removed from office by Congress over corruption allegations. According to the local prosecutor’s office, Vizcarra allegedly received 2.3 million soles ($670,000) in bribes from two companies when he was governor of a southern region a decade ago, an allegation he denied.
Vizcarra is currently in jail awaiting trial, where prosecutors are seeking 15 years in prison.
PEDRO PABLO KUCZYNSKI (July 2016-March 2018)
Kuczynski resigned ahead of an impeachment vote after facing allegations of vote-buying by his center-right government that he denied. Kuczynski also faced pressure over a corruption scandal with the former construction company Odebrecht while he was a minister under former President Alejandro Toledo. Kuczynski initially denied any ties with Odebrecht but later acknowledged his consulting firm advised the company in contracts it won while he was minister.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Alexander Villegas and Deepa Babington)
Comments