Second impeachment and removal of Martín Vizcarra facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Second impeachment and removal of Martín Vizcarra
Martín Vizcarra, with his ministers, announcing his return home on 9 November after the vote to remove him.
Accused	Martín Vizcarra, President of Peru
Date	20 October 2020 – 9 November 2020
Outcome	Vizcarra removed from office
Charges	Believed to be unable to do his job properly
Cause	Claims of improper payments to President Vizcarra from construction companies: when he was Governor of Moquegua when he was Minister of Transport and Communications
Votes by the Congress of Peru
Vote to start impeachment (2 November 2020)
Accusation	Unable to do his job
Votes in favor	60
Votes against	40
Present	18
Not voting	12
Result	Congress voted to start the process
Vote to remove (9 November 2020)
Accusation	Unable to do his job
Votes in favor	105
Votes against	19
Present	4
Not voting	2
Result	Vizcarra removed from office by Congress (87 votes needed); Manuel Merino became president
Part of 2017–present Peruvian political crisis

The removal of Martín Vizcarra from his role as president of Peru began on 8 October 2020. The Peruvian Congress started this process, saying he was "permanently unable to do his job properly." On 20 October 2020, several political groups like Union for Peru, Podemos Peru, and Frente Amplio signed documents to start the removal process. They claimed that President Vizcarra had been involved in unethical actions when he was the governor of Moquegua. Vizcarra was officially removed from office on 9 November 2020, after a vote of 105 to 16.

The first vote to start the removal process was planned for 31 October but was moved to 2 November. On that day, the process began with 60 votes in favor, 40 against, and 18 lawmakers not voting. Vizcarra went to the Congress meeting on 9 November to defend himself.

After hearing his defense, Congress discussed and approved Vizcarra's removal. They said he was unable to do his job properly. The vote was 105 in favor, which was more than the 87 votes needed out of 130 lawmakers. Vizcarra was the third president in Peru's history to be removed this way. The others were Guillermo Billinghurst (1914) and Alberto Fujimori (2000). He was also one of three leaders to face two removal attempts, along with Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Many Peruvians, experts, and news groups called Vizcarra's removal an unfair takeover of power. This led to the start of the 2020 Peruvian protests. Some people were also worried because a politician named Antauro Humala and his party, Union for Peru, were involved in both attempts to remove Vizcarra.

Understanding the Situation
- Rules for Presidents
- First Attempt to Remove Vizcarra
Key Events
- Vote to Start the Process
- Final Vote to Remove
See also

Understanding the Situation

Rules for Presidents

Article 113, Section 1 of the Constitution of Peru lists five main reasons why a president might leave office:

The president passes away.
The president is declared permanently unable to do their job, either mentally or physically, by Congress.
The president resigns.
The president leaves the country without Congress's permission or does not return on time.
The president is removed after being found responsible for certain serious actions mentioned in Article 117 of the Constitution.

In 2020, there were no clear rules for when a president could be removed for "moral incapacity." Because of this, a court ruling (No. 0006-2003-AI / TC) said that removing a president needed at least two-thirds of the lawmakers' votes. Congress was asked to create clearer rules. Later, Congress added Article 89-A to its rules.

This new rule said that at least 87 votes were needed to remove the president. This is two-thirds of the 130 lawmakers in the Peruvian Congress.

Even though the Constitution mentions "permanent moral or physical incapacity," Article 117 also says that a president can only be accused of certain things while in office. These include betraying the country, stopping elections, or unfairly dissolving Congress. This article was used by President Kuczynski's lawyer when he faced a removal attempt in 2017.

First Attempt to Remove Vizcarra

The first attempt to remove President Vizcarra was led by the Union for Peru (UPP) party. A UPP lawmaker, Edgar Alarcón, was a key figure in this process. Alarcón himself had faced questions about his own actions but was protected by his role in Congress.

During this first attempt, lawmakers who wanted to remove Vizcarra claimed he had lied about knowing a singer named Richard Swing. They also said he had misused government money by hiring the singer. Audio recordings were presented, which lawmakers claimed showed Vizcarra trying to stop investigations.

The president of Congress, Manuel Merino, was criticized for how quickly he pushed for Vizcarra's removal. If Vizcarra had been removed, Merino would have become president because Vizcarra did not have vice presidents. In September 2020, a reporter wrote that Merino had contacted the head of the Peruvian Navy, Fernando Cerdán. Merino reportedly told him he planned to try and remove Vizcarra and hoped to become president. The Minister of Defense confirmed that Merino had tried to get support from the military. Another report said Merino had contacted other government officials to prepare for a new government. After these reports came out, fewer lawmakers supported removing Vizcarra.

On 18 September, Vizcarra spoke to Congress for twenty minutes. After ten hours of discussion, 32 lawmakers voted to remove Vizcarra, 78 voted against it, and 15 did not vote. Since 87 votes were needed, Vizcarra was not removed at that time.

Key Events

After the first attempt failed, Edgar Alarcón of Union for Peru started a new request to remove Vizcarra in October 2020. This time, the request was based on claims of unethical actions by Vizcarra when he was the regional Governor of Moquegua. Someone who shared information with investigators claimed that a company called Obrainsa paid Vizcarra 1 million Peruvian soles. Other people also claimed he received 1.3 million soles from other companies for a hospital building project in Moquegua in 2013.

Vote to Start the Process

The new push to remove Vizcarra came from parties like Unión por el Perú, Frente Amplio, Podemos Peru, Popular Action, and some independent lawmakers. The request got 27 signatures, which was more than the 26 needed to start the process. The request was given to Congress on 20 October 2020. At least 52 votes from Congress are needed to officially begin the removal process.

On 25 October, Walter Martos, a government official, said that the Armed Forces would "not allow the rules to be broken." This caused a lot of discussion because Article 169 of the Constitution says the Armed Forces should not get involved in political decisions. On 27 October, Martos said his words were misunderstood. He stated that the government would "never use the Armed Forces in political acts."

On 2 November 2020, Congress discussed whether to accept the request to start the removal process. After the discussion, Congress voted. There were 60 votes in favor of starting the process, 40 against, and 18 lawmakers did not vote. The Union for Peru party fully supported the motion. Other groups voted freely. Lawmakers from Alliance for Progress and the Purple Party voted against it. Some lawmakers from FREPAP and three others did not vote.

Final Vote to Remove

Vizcarra did not seem too worried about the removal attempt. He said he trusted that "common sense would win" in Congress. He also said that he would not accept the argument that he was not guaranteeing fair elections. He pointed out that he was ensuring fair elections because he was not running in them himself. He also accused some political parties of trying to harm the 2021 general elections because they did not think they would win. However, Manuel Merino, the Congress president, confirmed that the elections would happen as planned. The Prime Minister, Walter Martos, also said that "a group of lawmakers is breaking the Constitution" and called the second removal attempt "very irresponsible."

Some lawmakers from the Broad Front, like Mirtha Vásquez and Rocío Silva Santisteban, said they would not support removing Vizcarra. They released a statement saying they did not want to risk changing health strategies during a time when people's lives were at stake.

Reports later came out that some lawmakers had promised to support Vizcarra but then voted to remove him on 9 November. When Vizcarra visited Cajamarca on 6 November, he seemed calm. However, some people traveling with him seemed distant and did not want to be in photos with him. A lawmaker named Felícita Tocto told Vizcarra she would vote against his removal and encourage others to do the same, but she later voted to remove him.

Vizcarra Speaks to Congress

On 9 November, Vizcarra felt positive after his first talks with lawmakers in Congress. While at the legislative building, Vizcarra criticized lawmakers who wanted to remove him. He said that 68 lawmakers were themselves being investigated for alleged wrongdoings. Vizcarra also stated that the contracts in question were managed by an agency chosen by the United Nations, not by his own office. His staff said that after Vizcarra's comments, the many lawmakers he mentioned became determined to convince others to vote for his removal. They made strong arguments against him.

Vizcarra Loses Support

Hans Troyes of Popular Action reported that during a break, those who wanted to remove Vizcarra told lawmakers who wanted to not vote or vote against the removal that they would block their ideas for new laws. After returning from a trip to Junín after his speech, Vizcarra received a call from César Acuña. Acuña had told Vizcarra that his Alliance for Progress party would not support his removal, but he now warned Vizcarra that his party would vote to remove him. Vizcarra did not try to argue with Acuña and ended the call soon after hearing this news.

Just before the final vote, Vizcarra and his staff learned that many lawmakers had changed their minds and were no longer supporting him. Calls to lawmakers were not being answered. After realizing what the vote's outcome would be, Vizcarra gathered his ministers at the Government Palace at 7:30 PM. He told those close to him, "This is enough... I'm tired," and added, "I don't want to give the impression that I want to stay in power." He then spoke to the public and left the Government Palace that same night.

Voting Results

The discussion and vote on the request to remove the president were scheduled for Monday, 9 November. This was the day the president was allowed to defend himself.

President	Date	Vote	Accion Popular	Alianza Para el Progreso	FREPAP	Fuerza Popular	UPP	Podemos Peru	Somos Peru	Partido Morado	Frente Amplio	Ind.	Total
Martín Vizcarra Ind.	November 9, 2020 Motion approved Removed	Yes	18	20	14	15	12	10	7		6	3	105 / 130
		No	4					1	2	9	2	1	19 / 130
		Absent			1		1						2 / 130
		Abstain	2	1								1	4 / 155