Octogenarian leftist, who has defended child marriage, replaces José Jerí, who was voted out after a scandal
Peru’s congress elected José María Balcázar, an octogenarian leftist lawmaker who has defended child marriage, as the country’s new interim president on Wednesday ahead of general elections in April. Balcazar is Peru’s ninth president since 2016.
The surprise election, in which Balcázar beat the favourite, conservative lawmaker María del Carmen Alva, came after lawmakers voted to remove his predecessor José Jerí, on Tuesday, after just four months in office, due to a scandal over secretive meetings with Chinese businessmen.
Balcázar, from the leftist Peru Libre party, was immediately sworn in as Peru’s head of congress on Wednesday after a four-hour session in which none of the four candidates managed to get a simple majority and lawmakers voted to elect Balcázar over Alva in a second round of voting.
Balcázar’s election prompted finger-pointing and recriminations among right-wing parties, as well as praise from sectors of the Peruvian political left. Balcázar joins a long list of leaders in an unprecedented period of political instability.
