Peru’s Congress will decide on March 30 whether to accept a motion to discuss the impeachment of President Dina Boluarte, a sign that the country’s political crisis is far from over.
The head of Congress Jose Williams said that if the necessary votes are reached to submit the motion, Boluarte will have the opportunity to defend herself with her lawyer in Congress, La Republica reported.
The motion requesting the impeachment of Boluarte is based on her alleged “permanent moral incapacity” to rule the country, a term that Peru’s constitution accepts as a cause to remove a head of state.
The allegation is based on the dozens of deaths in anti-government protests, which led a group of leftist lawmakers to present in January the first motion to discuss Boluarte’s impeachment because of the violence. She was sworn in as head of state in December after former President Pedro Castillo was impeached and arrested for trying to suspend Congress, which sparked the nationwide protests.
For proceedings against Boluarte to start, at least 52 lawmakers — or 40% of the 130-member Congress — would need to vote in favor of the impeachment motion. The vote of at least 87 of the lawmakers would then be needed for the formal removal of the president.
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—With assistance from Marcelo Rochabrun.
