José María Balcázar was elected interim president of Peru on Wednesday by the country’s Congress, stepping in after lawmakers ousted the previous interim leader, José Jerí, the day before. The vote underscores how quickly presidents have been replaced in recent years as Congress has acted to remove interim heads of state amid allegations of wrongdoing and disputes over the legal grounds for removal.
Balcázar, 83, is a former judge and a legislator representing the leftist Perú Libre party. Congress selected him over three other candidates, and he received a majority of votes from Peru’s 130-member legislature, according to the account from the AP. He was sworn in shortly after the election by Fernando Rospigliosi, the president of Congress.
Under the terms of the interim arrangement, Balcázar will govern for about five months before handing power to the winner of the elections scheduled for April 12. The AP report said Peruvians will choose both a new president and a new legislature that day, and that if no presidential candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the two front-runners would advance to a runoff in June.
Balcázar’s interim presidency is expected to coincide with ongoing challenges that he said he would prioritize, including the fight against organized crime. The AP report said Balcázar told journalists he would ensure that the upcoming elections are “unquestionable” and that macroeconomic policies would remain unchanged, including sound monetary policy “so that economic agents can work without concern,” while he would seek to refocus efforts against organized crime.
The rapid leadership changes in Peru have taken place against a broader backdrop of political instability, the AP report said, including a recurring lack of legislative majorities for leaders. The report also said lawmakers have often used a broad interpretation of a constitutional article related to “permanent moral incapacity” to remove sitting presidents.
Congress removed Jerí on Tuesday after about four months in office, the AP report said. The report stated that the current Congress, which began its term in 2021, has now impeached three heads of state: Pedro Castillo, Dina Boluarte and Jerí, highlighting a pattern of repeated removals by lawmakers.
Jerí’s own removal followed revelations tied to undisclosed meetings with Chinese business owners, including a state contractor, according to the AP. The AP report said Jerí asserted that he was only coordinating a Peruvian-Chinese festival, while prosecutors moved forward: it said the Public Prosecutor’s Office launched two preliminary investigations into Jerí over allegations of illegal sponsorship of private interests and influence-peddling to the detriment of the state.
With Balcázar preparing to oversee the lead-up to the April 12 vote, various political groups are demanding firm guarantees for a transparent election, the AP report said. His interim term is also likely to draw attention to public safety and economic conditions, as the AP report said his successor would inherit a surge in murders and extortion that continues to affect small business owners and working people.
The interim government also follows a specific succession sequence in Peru’s recent political crisis, with Jerí described as having been next in line to replace Boluarte in October 2025 after serving as president of Congress at the time. Balcázar’s election therefore closes another rapid chapter in Peru’s revolving-door presidency as voters look ahead to the next nationwide electoral contest.