Peru's interim president steps down after 5 days


On Tuesday, Manuel Merino became the interim president of Peru, and on Sunday, he stepped down, following days of unrest and the deaths of two protesters.
Last Monday, legislators removed President Martin Vizcarra from office, accusing him of having "moral incapacity" and alleging that he accepted bribes while serving as a governor; Vizcarra denied the claim. Vizcarra served as president for two years, and ran on a platform of fighting corruption. Half of the lawmakers serving in Peru's legislature are now being investigated or under indictment for everything from money laundering to homicide, NPR reports.
Merino had been the head of Congress, and when he became interim president, he faced pushback from citizens who believed he was only there because of a coup. Merino called for unity and urged people to vote in April's presidential election, but protesters quickly filled the streets for Peru's biggest demonstrations in decades, NPR reports. In addition to two protesters who were killed by police on Saturday, more than 100 demonstrators have been injured and several dozen are missing.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
By Sunday, most of Merino's Cabinet had resigned and Congress asked him to leave office. The next president will be Peru's fifth in five years. On Twitter, Vizcarra said he deeply regretted that protesters had been killed, saying their deaths were due to "the repression of this illegal and illegitimate government." He also shared his condolences to "the relatives of these civil heroes who, exercising their right, came out in defense of democracy and in search of a better country."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Jared and Ivanka's Albanian island
Under The Radar The deal to develop Sazan has been met with widespread opposition
-
Storm warning
Feature The U.S. is headed for an intense hurricane season. Will a shrunken FEMA and NOAA be able to respond?
-
U.S. v. Skrmetti: Did the trans rights movement overreach?
Feature The Supreme Court upholds a Tennessee law that bans transgender care for minors, dealing a blow to trans rights
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump