Peruvian Interim President Jose Jeri Dismissed by The Congress

The Peruvian Congress dismissed Interim President Jose Jeri after he was accused of alleged influence peddling, marking the eighth presidential change in the country in a decade of political instability.

The Congress of Peru removed this Tuesday, February 17, the Interim President, the right-wing Jose Jeri, with 75 votes in favor, 24 against and 3 abstentions, less than two months before general elections and 130 days after his designation.

Being censored as the highest authority of Parliament, Jeri automatically loses his status as Head of State in charge.

The dismissal of Jose Jeri, after little more than four months in office, occurred after reaching the votes required in the Extraordinary Plenum of the Congress of the Peruvian Republic, following a series of situations involving the now former President, such as the tax investigation for alleged influence peddling and after failing to overcome seven censure motions related to unregistered meetings with Chinese businessmen and other ethics questions.

His precarious position was exacerbated by allegations concerning the irregular hiring and entry of women into the Government Palace under the Managerial Support Fund, which significantly contributed to a sharp decline in his popularity.

In recent months, Jeri’s brief tenure has been increasingly embroiled in a series of severe political scandals. The most prominent of these, colloquially known as ”Chifagate” began to unravel with the publication of compromising media reports. These revelations quickly initiated the censure motions that ultimately led to his removal from the highest office, highlighting deep-seated concerns over transparency and ethics.

#Perú con 75 votos a favor 24 en contra y 3 abstenciones. El @congresoperu censuró al presidente NO ELECTO @josejeriore Mañana a las 6pm el legislativo elige al 9no presidente de la república de los últimos diez años@teleSURtv pic.twitter.com/Ey14g5hBGm

— JAIME HERRERA (@JaimeHerreraCaj) February 17, 2026

Text reads: “Peru with 75 votes in favor 24 against and 3 abstentions. The @congresoperu censured the president not elected @josejeriore. Tomorrow at 6 P.M. the legislature elects the 9th president of the republic for the last ten years.”

Secret Business Meetings
The crisis for Interim President Jeri intensified significantly when local media obtained compelling video footage, where the then-president was arriving late at night at a specific restaurant, where he engaged in a meeting with Chinese businessman Zhihua Yang.

Yang’s company had previously secured Government approval for the construction of a major hydroelectric power plant, immediately raising questions about potential conflicts of interest. This particular encounter was not recorded on the official presidential agenda, constituting a direct violation of Peruvian law, which mandates transparency for all such engagements.

Additional visual evidence subsequently surfaced, showing Jeri at yet another one of Yang’s businesses just days later, suggesting a clear pattern of undocumented interactions.

Furthermore, the ex-Peruvian Interim President was also reported to have met with a second Chinese businessman, Jiwu Xiaodong, who was, at the time of their alleged meeting, under house arrest for his involvement in alleged illegal activities.

These repeated, unscheduled engagements with figures tied to significant financial and legal issues intensely escalated public scrutiny and political pressure on Jeri’s already beleaguered administration.

Jeri has largely attempted to dismiss these informal meetings, seeking to reframe some of them as mere planning sessions for an upcoming Chinese-Peruvian friendship event.

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Questionable Hires
A second significant investigation on Jeri began to unfold in early February, further compounding his mounting political woes. Peruvian media showed the irregular hiring of several women within Jeri’s presidential administration, alongside potentially questionable contracts that he allegedly awarded.

These reports strongly hinted at a possible pattern of bribery or favoritism, adding another critical layer to the increasing accusations against the President and raising serious questions about the transparency and fairness of the governmental hiring process under Jeri’s administration.

The removal of Interim President Jeri after such a brief period in office marks yet another turbulent chapter in Peru’s recent political history, characterized by successive presidential impeachments and ongoing corruption allegations.

A Decade of Instability
Jose Jeri assumed the Peruvian Presidency on October 10, 2025 in his capacity as President of the Congress, following the impeachment of his predecessor, Dina Boluarte. Boluarte herself had taken office after Pedro Castillo was similarly removed by Congress under the same constitutional clause of “permanent moral incapacity”, which followed his attempt at a self-coup.

Jeri has become the eighth Pesident to vacate office in almost a decade of political instability, started after the 2016 elections.

This continuous cycle of presidential removals underscores the inherent fragility of the nation’s political institutions and the ongoing struggles for effective and stable governance.

On Wednesday, February 18, at 06:00 P.M. (local time) the Peruvian Legislature will design -as announced the President of the Congress of the Republic, Fernando Rospigliosia- a new President to assume the interim presidency of the Republic, thus becoming the nineth in a ten years-period.

According to the legal process, the Congress will have to choose a new Interim President from among the legislators, who must lead the country until July 28, date when the new President will take office, after the elections on April 12.

For his part, Jeri will continue to face a tax investigation for alleged influence peddling in the “Chifagate” case.

 

(teleSUR)