Second impeachment and removal of Martín Vizcarra
2020 impeachment of Peru's 85th president / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The removal of Martín Vizcarra, president of Peru, was initiated by the Congress of Peru on 8 October 2020 under the grounds of "permanent moral incapacity".[1] On 20 October 2020, political factions Union for Peru, Podemos Peru, and Frente Amplio co-signed a series of articles of impeachment against President Vizcarra for alleged cases of corruption during his term as the governor of Moquegua.[1] Vizcarra was removed from office on 9 November 2020 in a 105–16 vote.
Second impeachment and removal of Martín Vizcarra | |
---|---|
Accused | Martín Vizcarra, President of Peru |
Date | 20 October 2020 – 9 November 2020 |
Outcome | Vizcarra impeached, removed from office |
Charges | Presumed permanent moral incapacity |
Cause | Revelation of alleged illicit payments from construction companies to President Vizcarra:
|
Legislative votes by the Congress of Peru | |
Impeachment vote (2 November 2020) | |
Accusation | Moral incapacity |
Votes in favor | 60 |
Votes against | 40 |
Present | 18 |
Not voting | 12 |
Result | Vizcarra impeached by Congress |
Removal vote (9 November 2020) | |
Accusation | Moral incapacity |
Votes in favor | 105 |
Votes against | 19 |
Present | 4 |
Not voting | 2 |
Result | Vizcarra convicted by Congress and removed from office (87 votes required for a conviction); Manuel Merino becomes president |
Part of 2017–present Peruvian political crisis |
Initially, the vote to start impeachment proceedings was scheduled for 31 October, but it was later extended to the first week of November. Finally it was decided that the vote and debate would be held on 2 November.[2] When the date arrived, impeachment was initiated with 60 votes in favor, 40 against and 18 abstentions. Vizcarra attended the plenary session in Congress on 9 November to defend himself against the accusations.[3]
After hearing the President's defense, Congress debated and approved the removal of Vizcarra due to moral incapacity with 105 votes in favor, surpassing the 87 out of 130 vote supermajority threshold required to convict a political official. Vizcarra became the third president to have been successfully impeached and removed from office, along with Guillermo Billinghurst (1914) and Alberto Fujimori (2000). Along with his predecessor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and former U.S. President Donald Trump, he is one of three heads of state to be impeached twice.
The controversial removal of Vizcarra was defined as a coup by many Peruvians,[4] political analysts[5] and media outlets in the country,[6][7][8][9][10] resulting with the beginning of the 2020 Peruvian protests. Reported involvement of the ethnocacerist politician Antauro Humala and the introduction of charges by his party Union for Peru in both impeachment trials also raised concerns about the motives of removing Vizcarra.[11]