Overview
- Congressional censure of Jerí as speaker automatically vacated the presidency under legislative rules, leaving both posts open until a new speaker is elected.
- Preliminary investigations by the Attorney General’s Office target undisclosed meetings with Chinese businessmen — captured on video in the “Chifa-gate” scandal — and alleged influence peddling tied to the hiring of nine young women.
- Parties are slated to present candidates and vote Wednesday evening to elect a new president of Congress, who will immediately assume the interim presidency; acting speaker Fernando Rospigliosi has declined to take the role.
- Jerí has denied wrongdoing, describing the meetings as circumstantial and apologizing for entering one site hooded, while asserting no favors were sought or granted.
- The removal extends a yearslong pattern of rapid leadership turnover weeks before Peru’s April 12 vote, with the interim successor expected to oversee the transition until the July 28 inauguration.