Who is Dina Boluarte, the new president of Peru?

Dina Boluarte called for unity in her first speech as president 5:43

(CNN Spanish) --

Dina Boluarte took office as the new president of Peru, after this Wednesday Congress dismissed Pedro Castillo with the approval of a vacancy motion.

• Former President Pedro Castillo is detained in the midst of the crisis in Peru, after Congress approved his vacancy

In this turbulent context, Boluarte, who until a few hours ago was the country's vice president, took over as Castillo's replacement after being sworn in before the plenary session of Congress in a session called this Wednesday afternoon.

The first woman president of Peru was sworn in on Wednesday after the arrest of Pedro Castillo.

Boluarte will complete his term until July 2026. It is the sixth time that Peru has had a new president in less than five years.

In his first speech, Boluarte called for a "political truce to install a government of national unity" and said that he will fight corruption with the support of the Prosecutor's Office and the Comptroller's Office.

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"My first measure is to confront corruption, in all dimensions," Boluarte said.

"I have seen with revulsion how the press and judicial bodies have reported shameful acts of robbery against the money of all Peruvians, this cancer must be rooted out."

Who is Dina Boluarte?

Pedro Castillo, proclaimed president of Peru 1:15

Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra (Chalhuanca, Apurímac, 60 years old) is a lawyer graduated from the San Martín de Porres Private University, where she also did her Master's degree in Notarial and Registry Law, according to her resume published in the Single State Platform .

She began her political career in 2007, at the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (Reniec) in Surco, as an advisor to senior management and, later, as the head in charge.

In 2018 she was a candidate for mayor of Surquillo with the Peru Libre Party.

Two years later, in 2020, she participated in the extraordinary parliamentary elections, but did not win the seat.

During the 2021 general elections, she was a candidate for vice presidency for the Peru Libre party, in the formula headed by Castillo and which was victorious in the second round after obtaining 8,836,380 of the votes, according to the National Election Jury (JNE).

In the midst of the crossroads that Peruvians experienced in the face of the second round —when, as the writer Santiago Rocangoglio put it in an interview with CNN, they were debating between an extreme left (represented by Castillo) and an extreme right (represented by Keiko Fujimori)—, Boluarte made some statements in which he indicated that he would close Congress if the Legislature does not coordinate "in favor of the Fatherland with the Executive".

Fernando del Rincón confronts Dina Boluarte 5:22

In an interview with CNN's Fernando del Rincón in 2021, Boluarte retracted and said: "What I said is that we need a Congress that works for the needs of Peruvian society and that coordinates positively with the Executive so that both powers of State can work in a coordinated manner to meet the multiple needs of Peruvian society. We do not want an obstructionist Congress (...) At no time have I said that we are going to close Congress."

On July 29, 2021, she was sworn in as Minister of Development and Social Inclusion, a position she held until November 25, 2022, when she submitted her resignation after the appointment of Betssy Chávez as president of the Council of Ministers.

“Today I have made the decision not to continue in the next ministerial cabinet.

After deep reflection, I have no doubt that the current polarization harms everyone, especially the ordinary citizen who seeks to get out of the political and economic crisis,” Boluarte, who did not leave the vice presidency, wrote in a tweet at the time.

With information from Fernando del Rincón