Newly appointed Peruvian President José Jerí arrives at the Presidential Palace in Lima shortly after being sworn in as president on October 10, 2025. Photo: Peru's Presidential Palace via Reuters.
By Diario Red – Oct 12, 2025
We said it a little less than a week ago: “Why does Peru tolerate Dina Boluarte?” We also pointed out: “Peru’s structural political crisis has not been resolved because oligarchic interests are entrenched in political power. But above all, it is because this country’s democracy has reached the point where corporate, business, and mafia groups have always sought to establish themselves: permanent instability, as a mode and model of governance.”
The crisis indeed has not been resolved, neither with Boluarte’s departure nor with the appointment of her successor. Strangely, it would seem that with the new president, calm has returned. However, it is clear that the Peruvian political system revolves around these interests and corporate groups and will do nothing to promote the restoration of the masquerade called democracy, a democracy that remains suspended depending on who uses it and who usurps it.
They did not remove her because the usurper of the presidency had been convicted or tried for crimes committed against Pedro Castillo’s supporters, or because she had destroyed the country’s economy, or because she had “excessively” violated the constitution. They “disliked” Boluarte because of the “Rolexgate” case, which became the main argument for the motion in the parliamentary debate to remove her from office. A journalistic investigation revealed that the now-dismissed president had worn luxury watches at official events, some valued at up to $14,000, without explaining their origin.
Of course, the increase in violence, amid a wave of violent crime, including extortion of businesses and cumbia artists in the capital, was also present in the deputies’ speeches. All of this had already inflamed popular discontent and anger. An armed attack at a cumbia concert in Lima just days before the vote was considered the breaking point.
So, it would seem that for the political leadership, everything that happened three years ago was not part of the inventory of disasters, political violence, and corruption. The “straw that broke the camel’s back” for that leadership was the armed attack, because they even tried to gloss over the display of expensive watches. If the attack had not happened, we would surely still have the defender and supporter of a corrupt and far-from-democratic regime today, even though a Congress removed her under the protection of the constitution.
What will happen next? To what extent will the new “president” be able to ward off the structural crisis? Surely nothing different. Perhaps a new cabinet and a refresh of public debate. José Jerí is a product of the same system that sustained Boluarte. After a relatively discreet tenure in parliament, but bearing the heavy stain of a rape complaint filed earlier this year that was dismissed two months ago, he now inspires very little hope among broad sectors. Since 2013, he has been affiliated with the right-wing Somos Perú party, a group in which he has held several positions without any brilliance.
José Jerí Appointed as President of Peru After Dina Boluarte’s Impeachment
In practice, he is the right figure, the perfect candidate to transition to new elections, which will be a new stage of dispute among elites, effectively ruling out any possibility of a candidate from the progressive, popular, or leftist sectors.
Meanwhile, Pedro Castillo—the legitimate winner of the July 2021 elections—has been in prison without a sentence since December 2022, detained by the force of the corrupt judicial system. No one will reinstate him, much less repair all the damage to his life, profession, and integrity as a teacher and popular leader.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
