São Paulo, Brazil — Peru’s congress on Tuesday impeached the country’s interim president, José Jerí, for allegedly holding secret meetings with Chinese businessmen.
Jerí came into power in October after congress impeached Dina Boluarte for “permanent moral incapacity”.
This latest impeachment underscores Peru’s deep political instability since 2016, during which time Peru has cycled through eight presidents due to resignations, impeachments, and scandals.
Tuesday’s congressional session resulted in 75 congressmen in favor of impeachment, 24 against, and three abstentions, in a process legally known as a “motion of censure.”
In addition to impeachment, congressmen also scheduled general elections for April 12 to elect a new president. Meanwhile, the Andean country will be presided over by a leader elected by Congress on Wednesday.
In a post on X, Peru’s congress shared the names of the candidates: Segundo Héctor Acuña Peralta, María del Carmen Alva Prieto, Edgard Cornelio Reymundo Mercado and José María Balcázar Zelada.
In its reasoning to dismiss the president, Congress accused Jerí of holding secret meetings with Chinese executive Zhihua Yang, who received state concessions for energy sector projects.
As reported by the Peruvian press, Jerí was filmed meeting with Yang in downtown Lima.
The meeting resulted in a subsequent investigation of influence peddling by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which collected security camera footage from the Lima Metropolitan Prefecture, the San Borja District Prefecture, and a property located in the San Borja district.
In a video posted on social media by the country’s official presidential account in January of this year, Jerí confirmed the meetings but denied that they had any “irregular content.”
“Furthermore, it should be noted that neither on that day, nor on any other, did he ask me for any kind of favor or support, nor did he ask me to intercede for him or for third parties. And, moreover, I am completely unaware of his friendships or his past activities. If he had asked me for something irregular, I would have automatically broken all ties with him (Zhihua Yang),” Jerí said.
According to state news agency Andina, Jerí left the government palace, known as Casa de Pizarro, the previous night. He became the third president of Peru to be removed from office consecutively.
With only four months in office, Jerí assumed the Peruvian presidency in October 2025, after the impeachment of former president Dina Boluarte, who was unanimously removed amidst a wave of violence in the country.
Boluarte, in turn, assumed office in 2022, after former president Pedro Castillo was removed from office and imprisoned for an attempted coup d’état.
Featured image: José Jerí was impeached by Peru’s congress on February 17.
Image credit: Andina Agencia Peruana de Noticias
