Peru’s Dina Boluarte Ousted in Midnight Vote as Crime and Chaos Grip Country

Peru’s political soap opera just hit another dramatic twist. Congress voted late Thursday night to impeach President Dina Boluarte, one of the most unpopular leaders on the planet, after she failed to show up for her own hearing amid a raging crime wave and growing public fury.

Lawmakers pushed through the decision shortly after midnight, with 124 votes in favor of removing her for “moral incapacity.” Boluarte, 63, didn’t bother to appear in Congress at the 11:30 p.m. (local time) session where she was summoned to defend herself, and that, apparently, was the last straw.

Boluarte leaves office without a vice president, so Congress President José Jeri was swiftly sworn in as the new head of state, though his own reputation is already under fire, with rape allegations resurfacing in local media.

The vote came just hours after a deadly shooting at a concert in Lima inflamed public anger over crime spiraling out of control. That tragedy seems to have united nearly every political faction against her, even the right-wing groups that once backed her.

Legislators said Boluarte’s government had failed to control violence and corruption, accusations that have dogged her since she took office in December 2022 after the dramatic downfall of former President Pedro Castillo.

Boluarte’s time in power was marked by street protests, police violence, and approval ratings so low they almost seemed like a typo, between 2% and 4%, depending on the poll. Critics say she used state resources for personal gain, while supporters argue she inherited a mess no one could fix.

Now, Peru has yet another president, its sixth since 2018, continuing the country’s streak of political instability that’s almost become tradition.

Boluarte’s ouster comes just six months before scheduled presidential elections, meaning Peru will once again head toward the polls under a cloud of scandal, distrust, and fatigue.