Latest news with #Boluarte
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The world's most unpopular president? Peru's leader clings to power
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peru's President Dina Boluarte may be one of the most unpopular politicians in the world. Yet, she has survived a string of scandals, protests and investigations. Protests greeted Boluarte's rise to power 29 months ago, and have accompanied her throughout scandals over allegations of military repression, an alleged nose job and gifted jewels. Yet analysts say voter lethargy and political expediency may well help Boluarte, 62, see out the remainder of her term to July next year -- bucking a trend of prematurely-ousted Peruvian leaders. "In Peru there is a political paradox: Boluarte is the weakest president of the last decade," political analyst Augusto Alvarez of the University of the Pacific told AFP. But her weakness is "also her strength," he explained -- particularly in Congress, which has the power to oust presidents. "It is a great business to have a fragile president whom they (lawmakers) use" to entrench their own power and pass laws beneficial to allies and backers, said Alvarez. Plagued by political instability, the South American country has had six presidents in eight years. If Boluarte lasts to the end, she would have been the longest-serving among them. The conservative leader replaced leftist rural school teacher Pedro Castillo in December 2022 following his impeachment and imprisonment for trying to dissolve Congress. Having served as Castillo's vice-president, Boluarte opted not to call fresh elections but take over herself. Despite not having a party in Congress, she has managed to stay in power with the backing of Peru's majority right-wing parties. - Rolexgate - Boluarte is the target of a dozen investigations, including for the police crackdown that caused the death of 50 protesters after Castillo's ouster. Others have looked at her alleged omission in declaring gifts of luxury jewels and watches in what has been dubbed "Rolexgate," and at her two-week, undeclared absence for nose surgery she insists was medical, not cosmetic. This month, Boluarte's popularity hit rock bottom, according to the Ipsos polling agency -- down to two percent from 21 percent when she took office. "We might be talking about a world record of sustained presidential disapproval," Ipsos Peru president Alfredo Torres told AFP. Ipsos has not measured such a low score in any of the other 90 countries it surveys, he added. But Boluarte does have factors counting in her favor. Congress is seemingly keeping her around for lack of a better, consensus, candidate, and because her political feebleness means she cannot stop it passing tax and environmental laws that benefit lawmakers' political and business backers, critics say. Transparency International's Peruvian chapter Proetica has cited Congress for "counter-reforms, setbacks in anti-corruption instruments... and shielding of members of Congress who are ethically questioned." Another plus for Boluarte: Peru's economy has been performing well, with GDP growing 3.3 percent last year and 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2025 -- a steep improvement from the 2020 recession blamed on Covid pandemic lockdowns. Peru's inflation rate is one of the lowest in the region. "Another reason Boluarte remains in power is that the economy continues to function, there is enormous resilience, and the population's income is growing," said Alvarez. But this may have little to do with policy, observers say, and more with external factors such as rising copper prices. Peru is one of the lead producers of the metal. - 'Terrible image' - On the street, there is little love lost for Boluarte as Peru battles a surge in gang violence characterized by a wave of killings linked to extortion rackets. Boluarte "has no empathy, she is an incapable president, she does not solve the security problem," Saturnino Conde, a 63-year-old teacher, told AFP. At frequent marches against the president, the catchphrase: "Dina, Asesina!" (Dina, Murderer) has become a popular refrain. But a full-out rebellion appears unlikely, say analysts. Peruvians "feel it's not worth it: if she resigns or is dismissed, she would be replaced by a member of Congress, but Congress also has a terrible image," said Ipsos manager Torres. In addition, "there is no other candidate that captivates, which is why people are not in a hurry to remove her from power." ljc/cm/vel/lbc/mlr/arb/bgs
France 24
4 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
The world's most unpopular president? Peru's leader clings to power
Protests greeted Boluarte's rise to power 29 months ago, and have accompanied her throughout scandals over allegations of military repression, an alleged nose job and gifted jewels. Yet analysts say voter lethargy and political expediency may well help Boluarte, 62, see out the remainder of her term to July next year -- bucking a trend of prematurely-ousted Peruvian leaders. "In Peru there is a political paradox: Boluarte is the weakest president of the last decade," political analyst Augusto Alvarez of the University of the Pacific told AFP. But her weakness is "also her strength," he explained -- particularly in Congress, which has the power to oust presidents. "It is a great business to have a fragile president whom they (lawmakers) use" to entrench their own power and pass laws beneficial to allies and backers, said Alvarez. Plagued by political instability, the South American country has had six presidents in eight years. If Boluarte lasts to the end, she would have been the longest-serving among them. The conservative leader replaced leftist rural school teacher Pedro Castillo in December 2022 following his impeachment and imprisonment for trying to dissolve Congress. Having served as Castillo's vice-president, Boluarte opted not to call fresh elections but take over herself. Despite not having a party in Congress, she has managed to stay in power with the backing of Peru's majority right-wing parties. Rolexgate Boluarte is the target of a dozen investigations, including for the police crackdown that caused the death of 50 protesters after Castillo's ouster. Others have looked at her alleged omission in declaring gifts of luxury jewels and watches in what has been dubbed "Rolexgate," and at her two-week, undeclared absence for nose surgery she insists was medical, not cosmetic. This month, Boluarte's popularity hit rock bottom, according to the Ipsos polling agency -- down to two percent from 21 percent when she took office. "We might be talking about a world record of sustained presidential disapproval," Ipsos Peru president Alfredo Torres told AFP. Ipsos has not measured such a low score in any of the other 90 countries it surveys, he added. But Boluarte does have factors counting in her favor. Congress is seemingly keeping her around for lack of a better, consensus, candidate, and because her political feebleness means she cannot stop it passing tax and environmental laws that benefit lawmakers' political and business backers, critics say. Transparency International's Peruvian chapter Proetica has cited Congress for "counter-reforms, setbacks in anti-corruption instruments... and shielding of members of Congress who are ethically questioned." Another plus for Boluarte: Peru's economy has been performing well, with GDP growing 3.3 percent last year and 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2025 -- a steep improvement from the 2020 recession blamed on Covid pandemic lockdowns. Peru's inflation rate is one of the lowest in the region. "Another reason Boluarte remains in power is that the economy continues to function, there is enormous resilience, and the population's income is growing," said Alvarez. But this may have little to do with policy, observers say, and more with external factors such as rising copper prices. Peru is one of the lead producers of the metal. 'Terrible image' On the street, there is little love lost for Boluarte as Peru battles a surge in gang violence characterized by a wave of killings linked to extortion rackets. Boluarte "has no empathy, she is an incapable president, she does not solve the security problem," Saturnino Conde, a 63-year-old teacher, told AFP. At frequent marches against the president, the catchphrase: "Dina, Asesina!" (Dina, Murderer) has become a popular refrain. But a full-out rebellion appears unlikely, say analysts. Peruvians "feel it's not worth it: if she resigns or is dismissed, she would be replaced by a member of Congress, but Congress also has a terrible image," said Ipsos manager Torres. In addition, "there is no other candidate that captivates, which is why people are not in a hurry to remove her from power." © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Secret nose job allegations, ‘Rolexgate,' and the curse of the Peruvian presidency
Allegations of a secret nose job are threatening Peruvian President Dina Boluarte's grip on power – and that's only the tip of her problems. The Latin American leader, whose popularity has cratered to among the lowest in the world – with a disapproval rating of 93%, according to a recent Datum Internacional poll – is facing a string of investigations at the hands of Peru's Attorney General. The most serious of these involve the deaths of more than 60 people during a crackdown by government security forces on the protests that followed the ouster of her predecessor Pedro Castillo in December 2022; the more lurid include allegations she accepted Rolex watches and other jewelry as bribes and transported a fugitive politician in a presidential vehicle. But it is the plastic surgery on her nose in the summer of 2023 that has currently captured the attention of the country's headline writers. Boluarte, who denies all the allegations against her, has been accused of abandoning her post to have the surgery because she did not inform congress or delegate her powers during her almost two-week absence for an operation she has insisted was 'essential' for her health, as she was constitutionally required to do. Last week, the plastic surgeon Mario Cabani cast doubt on that account, telling a local TV show that of the five procedures he carried out on Boluarte – including rhinoplasty, septoplasty, a procedure on the lower eyelids, and a fat graft on the nasolabial folds (smile lines) – all but one were aesthetic procedures. Cabani, who said he had judicial authorization to disclose the procedures, also claimed Boluarte was sedated and at times unconscious during the procedure – which is at odds with the account of Boluarte, who has likened the procedure to a tooth extraction, and her lawyers who have maintained she never lost consciousness and did not abandon her post. Boluarte has not commented on Cabani's claims, though her spokesperson told El Pais it was a 'private matter.' CNN has asked her lawyer for comment. As if the controversy over Boluarte's nose were not damaging enough, it follows another controversy over her wrist. In March 2024, police raided her home (and later the presidential palace) as part of the 'Rolexgate' scandal in which she is accused of illicit enrichment and failing to declare her ownership of several luxury watches. Boluarte has insisted the watches were in fact a 'loan' that she mistakenly accepted. It's a state of affairs that might seem shocking to those not well-versed in Peruvian politics and the well-documented troubles of its leaders in recent decades. But in this country, presidential scandals – proven or alleged – are so commonplace that one of its prisons has housed four disgraced former leaders. Call it the curse of the Peruvian presidency: Since the turn of the millennium, no fewer than seven presidents have been brought to trial or faced legal challenges relating to allegations of corruption or human rights abuses. An eighth shot himself dead when police were closing in. Peru's notorious political instability – Boluarte became the sixth president in just seven years when she took over without an election in 2022 – is often traced back to the presidency of Alberto Fujimori, who was ousted in 2000 following a scandal involving his intelligence chief and convicted on charges of corruption, embezzlement and human rights violations that included authorizing a death squad. Since then, the political careers of most of Fujimori's successors have also ended in disgrace. Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) the first man to be elected president after Fujimori, was last year sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for receiving millions in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, in a scandal that has tainted political elites across Latin America. Alan García (2006-2011) died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2019, on the day prosecutors and police were due to arrest him as part of an investigation also linked to Odebrecht. Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) was sentenced this month by a first instance court to 15 years in prison for receiving illicit campaign contributions from Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government. Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018) resigned after two years in power after he too was caught in the grip of the Odebrecht scandal when allegations of money laundering surfaced. Today, he is under house arrest while the trial against him continues. Martin Vizcarra (2018-2020) dissolved Congress the year after coming to power. He did not finish his term either but was removed by the legislature on grounds of 'moral incapacity' after he was accused of taking bribes during his time as governor. He is currently on trial. (2021-2022), a rural teacher and union leader, was relatively unknown when he won an election after a brief period of rule by two interim presidents, one of whom resigned in less than a week. He was taken into custody for the alleged crime of rebellion and dismissed by Congress after attempting to dissolve it and set up an emergency government. Boluarte, his vice president, took over in 2022. All those accused and convicted have rejected the accusations against them. Many experts point to Fujimori's inauguration in 1990 as ushering in a return to authoritarian rule for a country that had spent the whole of the 1970s as a military dictatorship. The son of Japanese immigrants and the host of a TV show focused on the environment, Fujimori started off democratically, winning election by campaigning for change at a time of economic crisis and defeating a right-wing coalition led by the future Nobel prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa. He also won early plaudits for his 'Fujishock' austerity policies that reined in hyperinflation as well as his fight against rebel guerilla groups responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. Yet an authoritarian streak soon emerged and while abuse of power and corruption allegations began to swirl, he turned to his security forces to repress his opponents. Within two years of his triumph at the ballot box, Fujimori carried out a 'self-coup' in which he closed down Congress and the judiciary, revised the constitution, and installed a dictatorship 'that demolished the political parties,' according to constitutionalist lawyer Luciano López. '(For Fujimori) it was an anti-value to belong to a political party, an anti-value to do politics,' said Anibal Quiroga, dean of the Law and Political Science faculty at Cesar Vallejo University. Ever since, according to Quiroga, political parties have been 'permanently replaced by personalist, populist, improvised movements.' For the country's next elections, scheduled for April 2026, there are 43 candidates registered to run for the presidency, dozens of whom are not supported by traditional party structures. As Quiroga puts it, 'What Peru produces most after coffee is presidential candidates.' López points to another legacy of Fujimori as playing into the instability – the revised constitution he brought in after his self-coup, which handed greater powers to Congress. The problem those revisions made for the presidency did not become clear until 2017, when for the first time the opposition had a majority in Congress and used its powers to topple Kuczynski. Since then it has become harder for presidents to hold on to power. Amplifying the problem is that the present Congress has amended several articles of the constitution, according to López, increasing the imbalance of power and leaving an 'all-powerful' Congress. López fears this is storing up problems for the future. If a president wins election, but does not have the backing of Congress to govern, what will he or she do, López asks. 'I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but we are very exposed to a new April 5, 1992,' he says, referring to the day of Fujimori's self-coup. Perhaps there's no greater symbol of the curse than the Barbadillo prison in Lima, known popularly in Peru as the 'prison of the presidents,' that once housed Fujimori and has also held three of the leaders that followed him – Toledo, Castillo and Humala. But some experts caution against viewing Peru's struggles with corruption – it is ranked 127th out of 180 in Transparency International's corruption perception index – only through the lens of its disgraced ex-presidents. As Quiroga points out, while there have been cases of presidential corruption, there have also been cases of 'lawfare,' he says; a 'use and abuse of judicial proceedings, or of the legal system in general, for political ends and objectives, often with the aim of eliminating, damaging or delegitimizing an adversary.' Meanwhile, the former prosecutor and ex-president of Transparency International José Ugaz points out that the list of cursed presidencies may show Peru is 'part of a club of countries shamefully plagued by corruption,' but it also shows it is a country 'able to bring seven former presidents to justice.' CNN's Jimena de la Quintana, Angélica Franganillo Díaz and Hira Humayun contributed to this report.
Iraqi News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Peru PM quits ahead of no-confidence vote
Lima – Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen resigned Tuesday on the eve of a no-confidence vote against him, as the government faces mounting pressure over a spike in violent crime. Adrianzen was the most trusted ally of woefully unpopular President Dina Boluarte, whose government is accused of failing to tackle a wave of killings linked to extortion gangs. The 58-year-old Adrianzen presented his 'irrevocable resignation' to Boluarte and ministers, images broadcast from government headquarters showed. It is the latest episode of political turmoil in Peru, where Adrianzen was Boluarte's third prime minister in less than three years. The former lawyer took office in March 2024 after his predecessor quit in an influence-peddling scandal. Members of parliament from both the left and right had called for Adrianzen's ouster over his handling of the unprecedented wave in gang violence, which has seen soldiers deployed under a state of emergency. While extortion is a problem across Latin America, it has taken on alarming proportions in Peru — a phenomenon blamed partly on criminal gangs such as Venezuela's Tren de Aragua that operates in several Latin American countries. Adrianzen's toppling would inevitably have led to the resignation of the entire ministerial cabinet, in accordance with Peruvian law. His departure came ahead of fresh protests against Boluarte, who has clung to power despite numerous scandals and demonstrations demanding she step down. With no party of her own, Boluarte governs with the support of a right-wing coalition that holds the legislative majority.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Peru's prime minister resigns ahead of no-confidence vote
The prime minister of Peru, Gustavo Adrianzén, has resigned hours before he was due to face a no-confidence vote in Congress. Members of Peru's Congress had called for the no-confidence vote after the recent kidnap and killing of 13 mine workers, which shocked the country. Adrianzén's resignation is another blow to the embattled president, Dina Boluarte, who has seen her approval ratings plummet as crime rates in the country have soared. The resignation of the prime minister - the third to serve under Boluarte - forces the president to replace her entire cabinet, adding to Peru's political upheaval. Under Peru's constitution, all ministers have to step down if the prime minister quits. While the president can rename the same people to the posts they resigned from, she can only do so once a new prime minister is in place. The collapse of the cabinet comes at an already rocky time in Peruvian politics. Shortly before Prime Minister Adrianzén announced his resignation, Boluarte had reshuffled her existing cabinet, announcing new ministers of finance, interior, and transport. All three will now have to step down, just hours after being sworn in by the president. The already low approval rating of President Boluarte - who was sworn in when the previous president, Pedro Castillo, was impeached - have fallen further as Peruvians grow increasingly impatient at what they say is her failure to tackle crime. In recent months, hundreds of people have taken to the streets in protest at the growing problem of extortion, as gangs increasingly demand payments even from the smallest businesses, including transport workers. Dressed in white, they demanded "an immediate answer to combat extortion and targeted killings". Peru imposes curfew after kidnap and murder of 13 mine workers Peru's president avoids impeachment over 'Rolexgate' scandal Peru kidnapping leaves 13 dead in gold mine
