Peru’s Boluarte rose from vice president to embattled leader

By Alexander Villegas

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte's tenure was marked by turmoil from the moment she assumed power, but the unpopular leader was able to hang on for years until she was removed from office y Congress in the early hours of Friday.

Boluarte, a 63-year-old mother of two from a village in the mountainous region of Apurimac, was elected as vice-president in 2021. She became Peru's first female head of state when former President Pedro Castillo was ousted and arrested after trying to dissolve Congress in late 2022.

Castillo was a cowboy-hat wearing leader popular with Peru's indigenous and rural populations and his arrest was met with widespread protests around the country. The government responded to the unrest with a heavy-handed approach that led to the death of dozens of protesters in regions outside the capital.

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Boluarte, who has indigenous roots, defended the use of force and has since faced investigations into the deaths of protesters but was later shielded by Peru's constitutional court.

She also faced a number of corruption scandals, including her brother given pre-trial detention over corruption charges and an investigation into her use of luxury watches and jewelry.

Boluarte has also been criticized for the country's rising crime rates, which have sparked a number of protests in the capital and around the country. Boluarte had an approval rating of just 2%-3%, making her one of the most unpopular leaders in the world.

In September, Gen Z activists took to the streets to protest against Boluarte, leading to clashes between demonstrators in police.

Despite everything, Boluarte had managed to hold on to power until Thursday night, when Congress called an emergency session to discuss four different motions to impeach her.

Congress voted to move forward with the debate and Boluarte, whose term was originally meant to last until July 2026, was then removed from office in a vote just after midnight.