Manuel Merino facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Manuel Merino
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Merino in 2020
|
|
| 61st President of Peru | |
| In office 10 November 2020 – 15 November 2020 |
|
| Prime Minister | Ántero Flores Aráoz |
| Vice President | First Vice President Vacant Second Vice President Vacant |
| Preceded by | Martín Vizcarra |
| Succeeded by | Francisco Sagasti |
| President of Congress | |
| In office 16 March 2020 – 15 November 2020 |
|
| Vice President | 1st Vice President Luis Valdez Farías 2nd Vice President Guillermo Aliaga 3rd Vice President María Teresa Cabrera |
| Preceded by | Pedro Olaechea |
| Succeeded by | Rocío Silva Santisteban (acting) |
| First Vice President of Congress | |
| In office 26 July 2011 – 26 July 2012 |
|
| President | Daniel Abugattás |
| Preceded by | Alejandro Aguinaga |
| Succeeded by | Marco Falconí |
| Member of Congress | |
| In office 16 March 2020 – 26 July 2021 |
|
| Constituency | Tumbes |
| In office 25 July 2011 – 26 July 2016 |
|
| Constituency | Tumbes |
| In office 26 July 2001 – 26 July 2006 |
|
| Constituency | Tumbes |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Manuel Arturo Merino de Lama
20 August 1961 Tumbes, Peru |
| Political party | Popular Action |
| Spouse |
Mary Peña
(m. 1985) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | National University of Tumbes |
| Occupation |
|
Manuel Arturo Merino de Lama (born 20 August 1961) is a Peruvian politician. He served a very short time as the President of Peru, for only six days in November 2020. Before that, he was the President of Congress from March to November 2020.
Merino was also a Member of Congress for the Popular Action party. He represented the Tumbes area for three different periods: 2001–2006, 2011–2016, and 2020–2021.
On 9 November 2020, the Congress removed President Martín Vizcarra from his position. They used a reason called "moral incapacity," which is an old term. Many Peruvians saw this as a type of coup, and it led to big protests across the country.
Because he was the President of Congress, Manuel Merino became the new president of Peru the next day. This followed the rules in Peru's constitution. However, just five days after becoming president, he resigned. This happened after two people died during the protests. Many polls showed that most Peruvians (94%) did not approve of Merino becoming president. Francisco Sagasti then became the new president.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Manuel Arturo Merino de Lama was born on 20 August 1961 in Tumbes, a city in northern Peru. His parents were Pedro Merino Hidalgo and Elba de Lama Barreto.
In 1985, he married Mary Jacqueline Peña Carruitero, who is a teacher. They have three children together: Elba Jacqueline, Sandra Lisbeth, and María Teresa.
Merino finished his elementary school in 1973 and his high school in 1978, both in Tumbes. In 1979, he started studying agronomics (the science of soil management and crop production) at the National University of Piura. However, he left before finishing his studies.
That same year, Merino joined the center-right political party called Popular Action. He became an active member of the party in Tumbes.
Business Career
In 1983, Manuel Merino worked as a farmer and merchant. He also raised cattle. He was involved in many groups related to farming and trade in Tumbes. For example, he was a member of the Tumbes Livestock Fund and president of the Association of Banana Producers.
In December 2000, Merino worked with different farming groups to help farmers with their debts. He helped them cancel debts with the government and get new payment plans with private banks.
Political Career
Becoming a Congressman
In 2000, Manuel Merino led a group of political parties and movements called the National Unity Front. The Popular Action party then chose him to run for a seat in the Congress.
He was elected to Congress in the 2001 election. He received the most votes in Tumbes and served from 2001 to 2006. He tried to be re-elected in 2006 but did not win.
Later, Merino became very active in the leadership of the Popular Action party. This helped him run for Congress again in the 2011 election. He was part of a group of parties called the Possible Peru Electoral Alliance. He was elected again for the Tumbes area and served from 2011 to 2016.
From 2011 to 2012, Merino was the First Vice President of the Congress. He also led the Housing Committee from 2012 to 2013. He tried to be re-elected in the 2016 election but did not win that time.
President of Congress
In the 2020 election, Manuel Merino was elected to Congress for a third time. He represented Tumbes again. Because he was the most experienced member of the largest party in Congress, he was chosen as the President of Congress on 16 March 2020. He received 93 votes.
First Impeachment Attempt Against Martín Vizcarra
On 11 September 2020, Congress started a process to remove President Martín Vizcarra. They said he had "permanent moral incapacity." This means they believed he was not fit to be president.
Merino faced some criticism for how quickly he pushed for this impeachment. If Vizcarra was removed, Merino would become president because he was the head of Congress and Vizcarra had no vice presidents. Some reports said that Merino had contacted military leaders to tell them he was trying to impeach Vizcarra and wanted to become president. The Minister of Defense confirmed that Merino had tried to get support from the military. After these reports came out, fewer members of Congress supported removing Vizcarra.
President Vizcarra was allowed to defend himself. On 18 September, Congress voted on the impeachment, but it was rejected. Most votes were against removing him.
Second Impeachment Attempt Against Martín Vizcarra
On 20 October 2020, another group in Congress started a second impeachment process against President Vizcarra. They used new information about his time as a governor. Merino and other leaders in Congress agreed to wait to discuss this until 2 November. The motion to impeach was approved.
On 9 November 2020, after Vizcarra spoke to Congress, Merino started the final debate and vote. The vote passed with 105 votes in favor of removing Vizcarra. This meant Vizcarra was officially removed from office.
Because the Second Vice President had resigned earlier, Manuel Merino, as President of Congress, became the new president of Peru. Many people and the media did not agree with this decision. This led to large protests across Peru. Vizcarra accepted his removal and left the Government Palace that night.
Presidency (2020)
Manuel Merino became president on 10 November 2020, at 10:42 a.m. (Peru Time). His presidency began during the protests happening all over the country.
The next day, he chose Ántero Flores Aráoz to be his Prime Minister. Flores Aráoz was a conservative politician.
The head of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, said he was worried about the situation. He said that Peru's Constitutional Court should decide if the actions taken were legal.
Merino's becoming president was questioned by many people. On November 13, he was invited to a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.
In his first public speeches, Merino said he supported the elections planned for April 2021. He also spoke about helping Peru recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and keeping law and order. However, the protests continued. On 14 November, there were strong police responses to the demonstrations, and sadly, some protesters died. After this, most of Merino's ministers resigned.
Resignation
On 15 November 2020, Manuel Merino resigned as president. He stated that he had acted according to the law when he took office. He also said he would do everything to make sure the change in leadership happened smoothly.
The Constitutional Court of Peru had a hearing scheduled for November 18. This hearing was about the first attempt to remove Martín Vizcarra.
The government that followed, led by Francisco Sagasti, announced that the attorney general would investigate if Merino was responsible for any human rights issues during the protests.
On November 20, 2020, the Constitutional Court said it would not make a decision on the first impeachment case. This was because Vizcarra was already removed, so the issue was no longer active. Some people debated what this meant. Merino said it confirmed his presidency was constitutional, but a judge from the Constitutional Court said this was not true because the court did not make a ruling on the main issue. However, some other judges believed that Vizcarra's removal was allowed by Peru's Constitution.
Aftermath
In July 2022, a committee in the Congress of the Republic voted on investigations related to the protests. This vote was about the two deaths and 79 injuries that happened during the protests against Merino's government.
See also
In Spanish: Manuel Merino para niños
