Peru’s congress elected José María Balcazar, an octogenarian leftist lawmaker who has championed child marriage, as the country’s interim president ahead of general elections in April.
Balcazar has been the ninth president of Peru since 2016. Balcazar defeated the favorite, conservative Maria del Carmen Alva, in a surprise election after lawmakers voted to oust Jose Jeri as president on Tuesday after just four months in office because of a scandal involving secret meetings with Chinese businessmen.
Balcazar, of the leftist Peru Libre party, was sworn in Wednesday as head of Peru’s Congress after a four-hour session in which none of the four candidates secured a simple majority and lawmakers voted to elect Balcazar over Alva in a second round of voting.
Balcazar’s election prompted finger-pointing and recriminations among right-wing parties, as well as praise from the Peruvian political left.
Balcazar’s previous comments condoning sexual relations between 14-year-old girls and male teachers dominated Peruvian news coverage after his surprise election.
In 2023, the former regional high court judge sparked controversy as the only legislator to criticize and vote against a measure to ban child marriage. He said the ban should be limited to those under 14 years of age.
“From the age of 14, there should be no barriers, everyone has sexual relations, [male] There are teachers with students, female teachers with students and even between students. That’s fine,” he told reporters after the vote in the Congress. He later said his comments were taken out of context.
As chairman of the Congressional Education Committee, he said that it was common for teachers to have sex with their students, and that the relationships were “advantageous” for the minor.
In a statement at the time, Peru’s Women’s Ministry strongly criticized his comments as “sexual violence against school-aged children and adolescents, a painful and degrading situation that seriously affects their overall well-being and basic rights.”
Asked about those comments in an interview with a national radio broadcaster on Thursday, Balcazar replied: “I will not change my mind, I am firm in my convictions.”
In addition, Balcazar was investigated for alleged misappropriation of funds while head of the bar association in his native Lambayek. He was expelled from the association in 2022 after a disciplinary hearing.
Balcazar went on record as saying he would release jailed former leftist leader Pedro Castillo, who was sentenced by Peru’s Supreme Court in November to 11 years, five months and 15 days in prison for trying to dissolve Congress and rule by decree in December 2022.
Balcazar is expected to preside over the country until July 28 when a new president takes office. Peruvians will go to the polls on April 12 and a run-off vote will be held in June.
Pro-democracy, business and rights groups have called for restraint, amid fears that Balcazar could overstep his role in leading the country to the polls.
Alvaro Henzler of the pro-democracy non-profit group Transparencia Peru said: “Out of respect for the country’s stability and a tired citizenry, the new president’s mandate must be strictly limited to ensure a transparent and orderly democratic transition and prevent the current worsening crisis.”
