Peru’s interim president has been forced to step down in an “express impeachment” following a political scandal over his secret meetings with Chinese businessmen.
Lawmakers voted 24 to 75 to continue the impeachment of Jose Jeri, who has been in power for just four months.
He was embroiled in a scandal known as “Chifagate” after security-camera footage emerged showing him in secret meetings with Chinese businessmen outside of his official agenda, on one visit in which he appeared to try to hide his identity with a hooded top.
Jeri, 39, has been Peru’s eight president since 2016 amid an unprecedented period of political instability, amid sackings, resignations and interim terms.
The acting speaker of Peru’s Congress, Fernando Rospigliosi, said lawmakers will vote on Wednesday to decide who will replace Jeri, just months before the country’s presidential election in April.
Jerry was initially popular but his approval rating collapsed amid the Chifagate controversy and other scandals.
Political parties supporting him have started calling for him to step down, asking him to stay away from election campaigns.
Prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into influence-peddling allegations related to meetings with Yang Zhijua, known as “Johnny,” who has lived in Peru for decades.
Ji Wu Jiadong, another Chinese national who attended a meeting, was accused of belonging to an illegal timber-trafficking network known as Los Hostiles de la Amazonia and was placed under house arrest for two years, prosecutors said.
Jeri also faced scrutiny for hiring unqualified young women who got government jobs after late-night meetings at the presidential palace based on his official entry and exit log.
Many of them even accompanied Jerry on several official trips on the presidential plane. Jerry denied wrongdoing and said the appointments were legal.
The move at the top of Peruvian politics comes amid a dispute between the US Trump administration’s newly appointed ambassador to Peru, Bernardo Navarro, and China.
Navarro, who began his diplomatic duties in Peru this month, blamed “cheap Chinese money” in a post on X – adding that “there is no higher price to pay than the loss of sovereignty”, appearing to refer to the port of Chancay, which is majority-owned by Chinese firm Cosco Shipping Ports.
A fully automated port located 50 miles north of Lima. In the past, US officials have suggested the deepwater port could be used for naval operations, which Peru has denied.
In response, China’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it called the US’s “false accusations and misinformation against China’s cooperation with Peru” regarding the Chanke port.
In an attempt to steer the U.S.’s diplomatic outreach, Peru’s foreign ministry posted a photo on X to mark the Lunar New Year, shaking hands with Chinese Ambassador to Peru Song Yang and praising China’s investment and bilateral trade ties.
