By Marco Aquino
LIMA (Reuters) – The head of Peru’s Congress, Manuel Merino, is set to assume the presidency of the Andean nation on Tuesday after lawmakers removed Martin Vizcarra on corruption charges, plunging the world’s No.2 copper producer into political turmoil just months ahead of new elections.
Merino, a businessman and member of the center-right Popular Action party, will take the oath of office around 10:00 a.m. local time (1500 GMT). He will serve as interim president until the end of July next year, following already-scheduled elections on April 11.
Peru’s opposition-led Congress voted overwhelmingly to oust anti-corruption crusader and centrist Vizcarra late on Monday following an impeachment trial over allegations of bribery, the second such trial he has faced in two months.
Vizcarra’s abrupt removal means he joins a long list of Peruvian politicians ensnared in allegations of corruption, piling a political crisis atop the economic recesion induced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Peru’s dollar-denominated government bonds tumbled with the surprise news of Vizcarra’s removal on Tuesday, as marketwatchers expressed concerns of a further drift towards populism. Most analysts had anticipated he would survive the impeachment vote.
The country’s Congress, led by Merino, has twice approved the partial withdrawal of private pension funds amid the pandemic that has ravaged the economy, unnerving some analysts and politicians who accuse him of a populist bent.
But Merino, 59, called for calm late on Monday and said the April 11 elections would stand.
Former soccer goalkeeper George Forsyth, the favorite among prospective candidates for the presidency in recent polls, nonetheless urged vigilance during the transition.
“This is a coup in disguise. We need calm, but also a lot of citizen surveillance,” he said on Twitter.
CONFIEP, a trade group for private business, urged authorities to assure prompt and transparent elections.
“We appeal to calm and resilience so that this episode does not take away from the efforts that all Peruvians have made to overcome the pandemic,” the union said on Twitter.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; writing by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
