Peru’s Congress to Debate Vote of NO Confidence for President

MIAMI - Peru’s Congress is debating a motion on potential vacancy proceedings against Peruvian President José Jerí on Tuesday. Jerí, 39, has only served in the position for a little over four months, and a vote of no confidence could once again throw the nation’s government in political turmoil.

Jeri is Peru’s eighth president in a long line of predecessors who have either been expelled from office, resigned, or indicted on criminal conspiracy charges in the last decade, a period that has plagued the Peruvian government with major instability and chronic dysfunction.

In late January, President Jerí addressed the nation’s Congress after reports revealed that the president had multiple “undisclosed” meetings with Chinese national, Zhihua Yang, who owns a chain of commercial stores in Lima, and is currently tied to a major energy concession with the Peruvian government.

Opposition members, including some political allies, allege that Jerí’s meetings were grossly inappropriate, raising suspicions of whether the president has the integrity to continue to lead the nation.

The scandal, known as ‘Chifagate’, has added further troubles to Peru’s tumultuous political woes, which initially led to Jerí’s rise to the executive seat after his predecessor Dina Boluarte was ousted by lawmakers in October 2025.

Boluarte carried the lowest approval rating for any presidential figure in all of Latin America, resulting in the loss of confidence of the Peruvian Congress.

The central issue regarding a potential expulsion of Jerí lies in a technicality in the vote count and whether the legislative body can oust Jerí with or without the required 87 votes typical of the removal process.

Opponents argue that Jerí could be removed by censure, which would require a lower vote count for vacancy proceedings to begin. If censure does succeed, however, lawmakers will immediately move to find a replacement for Jerí, thus restarting the process of approving Peru’s next executive official.