Lima, Peru — October 10, 2025
In a stunning late-night session, Peru’s Congress voted unanimously to impeach President Dina Boluarte, removing her from office after months of mounting outrage over crime, corruption, and political paralysis. The 122-0 vote marked the downfall of Peru’s most unpopular leader in modern memory and deepened the nation’s chronic cycle of political instability.
The impeachment came just hours after a brazen machine gun attack at a cumbia concert in Lima left four band members wounded — a shocking emblem of the violence that has gripped the country under Boluarte’s watch. As the tally was announced, lawmakers and crowds outside Congress erupted in celebration.
José Jerí, the president of Congress, is now expected to serve as interim president until general elections scheduled for April 2026, unless lawmakers select a different caretaker leader from among themselves.
A President Without Allies
Boluarte’s removal capped months of political erosion. Once backed by a coalition of right-wing and centrist parties, she had seen her approval rating plummet to between two and four percent, the lowest for any Peruvian president in recent history.
Her fall was as swift as it was complete. Parties that had long shielded her from impeachment — including those led by top conservative figures Keiko Fujimori and Rafael López Aliaga — turned against her in the face of public fury and looming elections.
“Few presidents have faced crises with such detachment,” said Gonzalo Banda, a political scientist at University College London. “She governed as if the protests and scandals no longer mattered.”
Crime, Corruption, and a Crisis of Trust
Boluarte’s presidency was defined by escalating crime and repeated states of emergency that failed to restore order. Extortion cases have soared from a few hundred annually in 2017 to more than 2,000 a month, according to national police data. Contract killings and gang-related bombings have become daily occurrences.
Even as the violence spread, allegations of corruption and personal misconduct eroded what little credibility remained. Prosecutors investigated Boluarte for accepting luxury watches as bribes and for aiding political allies accused of organized crime. She denied all wrongdoing.
Public trust in Peru’s institutions — already fragile — collapsed further. Polls showed that Congress itself remains deeply unpopular, raising fears that political elites may exploit Boluarte’s downfall for their own gain.
Echoes of a Turbulent Past
Boluarte, a former vice president, assumed power in late 2022 after her predecessor Pedro Castillo was arrested for attempting to dissolve Congress. Her decision to remain in office rather than call new elections ignited protests across the country, leaving 49 civilians dead in clashes with security forces. She is now under investigation by national prosecutors for potential human rights violations.
Her ouster continues a troubling trend in Peruvian politics. Since 2016, every president has either been impeached, imprisoned, or investigated for corruption. Former leaders Alejandro Toledo, Ollanta Humala, and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski all faced charges connected to the Odebrecht bribery scandal. Alberto Fujimori, who ruled in the 1990s, died last year after serving time for human rights abuses.
The latest upheaval underscores Peru’s chronic inability to stabilize its democracy. Once celebrated for its economic growth and political maturity, the country now faces its fifth change of leadership in less than a decade.
The Road Ahead
Interim president José Jerí inherits a nation on edge — battered by crime, disillusioned by corruption, and distrustful of every branch of government. With elections just six months away, the challenge will be to steer the country toward stability without inflaming further unrest.
Outside Congress, one protester summed up the nation’s exhaustion with a handmade sign: “Criminals sacrifice criminals to look like heroes.”
Whether Peru can break that pattern remains uncertain.
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