The Congress of Peru dismissed the interim president, the right-wing José Jerí, this Tuesday, February 17, with two months left until the general elections. This is the eighth presidential change in almost a decade of political instability.

First modification: 02/17/2026 - 20:54 Last modification: 02/18/2026 - 00:09

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The political crisis in Peru: with 75 votes in favor, 24 against and 3 abstentions, the Legislature resolved to remove José Jerí from power.

The Congress of Peru appealed to the investigations opened against him in his short term of just four months following several semi-clandestine meetings with Chinese businessmen who were state contractors and alleged irregularities in the hiring of officials who previously had meetings with him in the Government Palace.

Jerí maintained an interim mandate as president of Congress, after the dismissal of President Dina Boluarte (2022-2025) in October of last year, so that upon being censured as the highest authority of Parliament he automatically loses his status as acting head of state.

It is expected that legislators will now elect a new president of Congress, who will also assume the Presidency of Peru, becoming the country's eighth president in a decade. Jeri is also the third consecutive president of Peru to be removed from office.

Among Peruvian society, the rapid dismissals are said to highlight how the Peruvian political class has failed to address voter concerns such as crime and corruption, leaving the country trapped in a cycle of short-lived administrations with little time or authority to address problems and a deeply unpopular Congress.

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Ruth Luque, one of the legislators who supported the censorship measures, assured that they seek to replace Jeri with a leader who puts the public interest and security first.

Read alsoNew presidential dismissal in Peru: José Jerí falls on the eve of elections

"We ask that this agony be put to an end so that we can truly create the transition that citizens long for," he said.

"Not a transition with hidden interests, influence peddling, secret meetings and hooded figures. We don't want that kind of transition."

With another interim leader taking power ahead of elections scheduled for April 12, the volatility risks deepening public mistrust as lawmakers and politicians seek to position themselves as presidential contenders.

"It seems to me that there is no trace of altruism here, only electoral calculations," says Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington.

"Many legislators concluded that supporting Jeri would hurt them in the elections, so they had to act."

The scandal, known as "Chifagate" (the local name for Chinese restaurants), began in January, when Jeri was filmed arriving at a restaurant late at night wearing a hoodie to meet with Chinese businessman Zhihua Yang who owns shops and a concession for an energy project. The meeting was not made public.

Jeri became President in October after Peru's Congress voted unanimously to remove her predecessor Dina Boluarte, while right-wing parties that had backed her withdrew their support amid corruption scandals and growing anger over rising crime.

Boluarte did not have a vice president and Jeri, who was then the head of Congress, was next in line of succession.

This interim status was used to remove him from the Presidency on Tuesday. Unlike "impeachment," which requires a supermajority of 87 in the 130-member legislature, Congress voted to censure Jeri, stripping him of his position as Congress president with a simple majority.

With EFE, Reuters and AFP

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