Peruvian President Manuel Merino resigned on national television on Sunday announced. Merino came to power on Monday after impeachment proceedings against his predecessor Martín Vizcarra. On Saturday, two people were killed and at least 100 injured in clashes between police and demonstrators in the capital, Lima.
Merino ruled the South American country for less than a week. It is not yet known who will succeed him. On Sunday afternoon, thousands of people in Peru took to the streets to celebrate Merino’s resignation.
Peru has been in a political crisis for some time. That situation escalated further after the impeachment of Vizcarra last week. With the resignation of Merino, the country is again in uncertainty. A majority in parliament voted to oust Vizcarra as president on Monday. He would have taken bribes as governor.
Parliament president Merino then took over the presidential duties, but the demonstrators who took to the streets on Saturday and earlier in the week did not accept this. They stated that Merino had come to power through “a parliamentary coup”. They were the biggest protests in Peru in years. Although the protests were generally peaceful, disturbances broke out on Saturday evening. The police acted hard and used tear gas, among other things.
At least a hundred were injured in the confrontations. Dozens of people are still missing. According to a representative of the Ministry of Health, 63 people had to be hospitalized. Nine of them had gunshot wounds.
In response to the protests all ministers of Merino’s cabinet left and Merino scheduled an emergency meeting for Sunday. Congress had already threatened to impeach Merino if he didn’t resign himself.
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Protesters took to the streets for days to demand Merino’s resignation. Those protests escalated on Saturday. (Photo: ANP)
Vizcarra enjoyed popular popularity among the population
Former President Vizcarra, who was ousted Monday, was very popular with Peruvians for his fight against government corruption. Since taking office in 2018, attempts had already been made to impeach him three times. Parliamentarians accused Vizcarra himself of corruption, but provided little evidence. An earlier impeachment procedure in September stranded still in Congress.
The political situation in Peru has been precarious for years. Vizcarra’s four predecessors have all been suspects in various corruption investigations. Merino would lead the country to elections next April.
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