Peruvian Congress dismisses President José Jerí after scandals

Published at: 17/02/2026 03:39 PM

This Tuesday, February 17, the Congress of the Republic of Peru dismissed interim president José Jerí, just four months after taking office, after a series of scandals and allegations of influence peddling.

The decision was adopted at an extraordinary plenary session, convened after gathering the necessary signatures during the parliamentary recess. The motion of censure was approved with 75 votes in favor, 24 against and three abstentions, according to a note from RT.

“The position of President of the Republic is vacant,” announced the first vice-president in charge of the Presidency of the Parliament, Fernando Rospigliosi, who admitted seven motions of censure against Jerí to be debated and then unified them to facilitate the vote.

During the debate, sectors of Fujimorism and other groups tried to stop the process by arguing that the removal should be carried out through a motion of vacancy and not of censure, an approach that was rejected by the plenary.

The motions were introduced between January 21 and 27, in a context marked by journalistic complaints about alleged secret meetings between the interim president and the Chinese businessman Zhihua Yang, which increased political pressure against him.

At the end of January and the beginning of February, various political forces questioned Jerí's tenure in office, in the midst of a progressive decline in his support. In addition, the Popular Renewal party publicly announced that it would support its censorship, alleging alleged abuses of power, ineffective management of citizen security and its connection with controversies prior to its arrival to the Executive.

Jerí had assumed the head of state after the departure of the then president Dina Boluarte, but his administration was quickly marked by controversies that also led to his dismissal by the Parliament.

Mazo News Team