Manuel Merino assumes the presidency of Peru 8:41
(CNN Spanish) -
Manuel Merino assumed the presidency of Peru in Congress this Tuesday.
The inauguration of Merino, the third president of the country in the five-year period 2011-2016, comes after the vacancy of the presidency of the Republic was declared and with this he removed Martín Vizcarra from his position on the grounds that he incurred moral incapacity.
Merino told Congress that the crisis is undeniable in his country but assured that "faced with these dilemmas it is necessary to act with responsibility and maturity."
Merino said he will lead a democratic transition and will focus on "correcting all the mistakes."
"Health will be a priority, the relentless fight against corruption and the search for consensus," said the president when assuming the presidency.
105 congressmen voted in favor of the vacancy, 19 against and 4 abstained.
The number needed to pass the measure was 87 votes.
The vacancy motion approved by Congress was presented on October 20 by 27 of the 130 congressmen, after a journalistic complaint from the newspaper
El Comercio
revealed that four aspiring effective collaborators told the prosecutor Germán Juárez that Martín Vizcarra had received illicit payments from construction companies when he was governor of Moquegua, between 2011 and 2014. On several occasions, including before this Monday's debate in which he also defended, Vizcarra has denied the accusations.
Vizcarra assumed the presidency in March 2018 after the resignation of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
Vizcarra's removal from office plunges the world's second largest copper producer into political turmoil as it seeks to recover from an economic recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
advertising
Dozens of people rallied at Plaza San Martín in central Lima in support of Vizcarra following news of his removal as police officers closely watched the crowd.
Outside the Congress, this Tuesday, there have also been protests expressing rejection of the process.
A video circulated on social media showing Congressman Ricardo Burga, who voted in favor of the impeachment motion, being struck in the face by a passerby while speaking to television reporters.
Vizcarra, 57, lacked a party in the fragmented Congress and had a strained relationship with lawmakers, with whom he was frequently angered by his anti-bribery agenda.
He dissolved Congress last year after a protracted standoff, a move that drew criticism from right-wing lawmakers.
Vizcarra survived a first vacancy attempt in September over alleged links to a case of irregular government contracts with a little-known singer.
Only 32 in the chamber voted in favor of his removal in that vote.
In November, however, lawmakers voted to move forward with a new process over allegations that Vizcarra took bribes from companies that won public works contracts while he was governor of the southern Moquegua region.
Vizcarra's removal could usher in a period of political tension in the months leading up to the elections, as Peru is already strained by economic instability and the impact of the pandemic, analysts said.
"The political turmoil related to the latest vacancy process and accusations of corruption add to deep mistrust in the political class ahead of the next elections," the international firm Eurasia said in a report on Monday.