São Paulo, Brazil – José Maria Balcázar was elected president of Peru’s Congress on Wednesday following the removal of José Jerí and will assume leadership of the transitional government.
Balcázar, 83, defeated María del Carmen Alva in a run-off congressional election, where he won 60 out of 113 votes. He will serve as head of state until April 12, when Peru will head to the ballot box to vote for a new president.
Balcázar, from the left-wing Peru Libre (Free Peru) party, has become the country’s ninth president in a decade marked by extreme political instability.
In his first address to congress as the new head of state, Balcázar said that he will seek to “guarantee the people of Peru that there will be a peaceful and transparent democratic and electoral transition, leaving no doubt about the elections.”
Peruvian newspaper El Comercio reported that Balcázar promised to pardon former president Pedro Castillo in order to secure the votes he needed. In November, Castillo was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for his 2022 attempt to dissolve congress and rule by decree.
Balcázar, however, told Peruvian outlet RPP that a pardon “is not on the agenda.”
“He has an ongoing criminal case,” the new president added.
Balcázar himself is currently under investigation for a series of alleged crimes including embezzlement and fraud. The 13 accusations include alleged misconduct committed while he was serving as a provisional Supreme Court judge.
The decision to elect Balcázar has faced significant criticism in the Peruvian press, in large part due to his support for child marriage.
In June 2023, Balcázar was the only congressman to abstain from voting on a bill to end child marriage. He argued in congress that “early sexual relations help the future psychology of a woman.”
Prior to 2023, Peruvian children as young as 14 were legally able to marry.
Later that year, Balcázar also said that it was normal for teachers to have sexual relations with their students, prompting condemnation from Peru’s Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations.
José Jerí, who himself took over following the ousting of Dina Boluarte in October, was impeached by Peru’s powerful congress on Tuesday.
Jerí had been at the center of a scandal surrounding secret meetings with a Chinese business executive, Zhihua Yang, who had received state concessions, prompting allegations of influence peddling.
He is one of four Peruvian presidents to be impeached and removed from power in the past 10 years.
Read more:Peru’s congress ousts President José Jerí
Featured image: José Maria Balcázar elected Peru’s interim president
Image credit: Congreso de la República de Perú
