The Peruvian Parliament approved this February 17 to debate the seven vacancy motions introduced against the president for alleged influence peddling, and left the country on the verge of a seventh dismissal in the highest judiciary in the course of nine years. Many of the conservative forces that initially supported Jerí turned against him, while the president alleges irregularities in his process.

First modification: 02/17/2026 - 19:39 Last modification: 02/17/2026 - 19:40

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Peru is ready to change its president for the seventh time in the last nine years, after Congress approved the discussion of the seven vacancy motions introduced against the interim José Jerí, due to accusations of influence peddling.

“Jerí has ​​exercised power clandestinely: secret meetings, night meetings and contradictory versions, and what will come out next?” argued Congressman Hamlet Echeverría, when presenting the seventh and final motion, which was approved with 72 votes in favor, 23 against and without abstentions.

The trend was repeated with similar proportions in the seven votes that gave rise to the debate that could determine Jerí's departure from the Government Palace, and that began despite the fact that the interim president had questioned that it was not the appropriate procedure to decide on his continuity.

Jerí has ​​maintained that an eventual dismissal should be decided with 87 votes in favor, which is what corresponds to ending the management of a president elected by popular vote, but Congress is protected by a law that allows him to be prosecuted as president of the legislative body, which was his position at the time he replaced Dina Boluarte.

The shadow of 'Chifagate'

Jerí had been in the crosshairs of Congress following the appearance of two security videos that show his nightly visits to the businessman of Chinese origin Zhihua 'Johnny' Yang, a businessman who, according to Peruvian media, would be linked to former President Boluarte's brother, Nicanor, in turn prosecuted for alleged acts of corruption.

In the first of these videos, which corresponds to December 26, 2025, he is seen entering a Chinese food restaurant owned by 'Johnny' at midnight, dressed in a hooded coat. He was with a presidential escort and in the company of the Minister of the Interior Vicente Tiburcio.

The nickname 'chifa', by which this type of establishment is known in Peru, gave the name 'Chifagate' to this new political scandal, which put Jerí's interim presidency in suspense when he had barely been in office for 100 days, replacing Dina Boluarte.

In the second video, Jerí is shown with sunglasses and a Peruvian Air Force jacket, entering with 'Johnny' into a Chinese goods store, also owned by him.

At the time, the interim president tried to excuse himself by saying that he was planning with the businessman the celebrations for the Chinese-Peruvian Friendship Day, which would be celebrated during those days, but later he acknowledged having acted wrongly, although he stated that he was not planning illicit businesses, as some sectors had suggested.

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Journalist complaints had stated that the purpose of the meetings was to grant a contract without bidding, for 'Johnny' to equip the country's public transport buses with video surveillance systems, as a way to address the strong insecurity that Peru is experiencing.

The publication of the videos opened the door to the prospect of a new impeachment in a country that has seen seven presidents parade in the last nine years, when left-wing congressmen began to propose the activation of vacancy motions against them.

According to Peruvian legislation, these motions could not be processed until March, as parliament was in the middle of a legislative recess, but they could be reactivated if the signatures of 78 of the 130 deputies were collected.

This was achieved on February 12, amid the indignation of several groups due to the lack of satisfactory responses from Jerí to clarify the complaints against him.

Other accusations against Jerí

Since the beginning of 'Chifagate', the Prosecutor's Office activated another investigation against Jerí for alleged aggravated influence peddling, due to a pattern of irregular hiring of young women after meetings with the president in the Government Palace.

Local media such as the Latina channel or the RPP station reported on at least five professionals between 29 and 38 years old who benefited from service orders and contracts in public organizations, such as social security, the ministries of Education and Environment or the presidential office itself, after visits to Jerí.

Due to this investigation, Jerí had to give a statement on March 2 before the acting prosecutor of the Nation Tomás Gálvez Aladino.

However, he has rejected accusations of wrongful behavior and stressed in a statement that "the rights to a good name, dignity and work cannot be objectified and violated for the simple fact of being a woman and being young."

More recently, a former friend of Jerí, Marco Antonio Cardoza, involved him in an alleged rape case that occurred at the end of 2024, when the Somos Perú politician was already a congressman.

Cardoza, who is a fugitive in Europe, accused of this same case, had asked the prosecutor's office in July 2025, shortly before Jerí assumed the presidency of Congress, to also prosecute him, to determine if he was involved.

At the time, Gálvez decided to file the complaint, considering that there was not enough evidence to begin an investigation, but now a journalist, Pamela Arroyo, has published testimonies from Cardoza on her social networks, putting the case back on the table.

Recurring political instability

Since 2016, when Ollanta Humala was the last Peruvian president who managed to complete his constitutional period, seven leaders have succeeded one another in the Government Palace and six have been defenestrated before completing five years.

In the nine years since then, there have been the dismissals of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (who spent one year and eight months in power), Martín Vizcarra (two years and seven months), Manuel Merino (five days), Francisco Sagasti (eight months), Pedro Castillo (one year and four months) and Dina Boluarte (two years and 10 months).

Of them, Vizcarra and Castillo are imprisoned, along with former presidents Humala and Alejandro Toledo, while Kuczynski is still being prosecuted after having served three years of house arrest, and is prohibited from leaving the country.

Several voices had warned about the need to stop political instability, from the US ambassador Bernie Navarro to the National Confederation of Private Business Institutions of Peru (Confiep).

"For the stability of the country, I believe that the tone should be lowered, ensure dignified elections and that the president remains in office. Changing presidents frequently, in the eyes not only of the United States, but of the world, is not normal," Navarro told the newspaper Gestión.

For its part, Confiep warned that "regardless of the outcome of the motions in process, the country needs to preserve governability" and added that "institutional stability and predictability are basic conditions for development."

The former president of Congress María del Carmen Alva of the Popular Action party and José María Balcázar of the leftist Perú Libre are mentioned as probable successors to Jerí in case the dismissal is successful.

The chosen one would be in charge during the presidential elections next April and would hand over the position at the end of July.

With EFE and local media

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