LIMA – The new president of PeruJosé Jerí, asked this Thursday for special powers from Congress to confront insecurity, after the massive protest against organized crime and the political class that left one dead at the hands of a police officer and a hundred injured in Lima.
On Wednesday, the most serious clashes occurred since the demonstrations began a month ago in the Peruvian capital.
The protests have been led by Generation Z, a group of young people between 18 and 30 years old, in repudiation of Congress and the newly installed right-wing government, which replaced Dina Boluarte.
The former president was removed after an express impeachment trial on October 10 due to the insecurity crisis.
“Interim President”
Jerí, 38 years old and until then head of parliament, assumed the presidency on an interim basis until July 2026, when he must hand over command after general elections.
During Wednesday’s clashes, Eduardo Ruiz, a 32-year-old rapper who was participating in the protest, died from a gunshot wound.
The shot was fired by a non-commissioned officer who acted in isolation and who will be separated from the “police force,” said the commander of the institution, General Óscar Arriola, at a press conference.
Another agent who was captured on video cameras from the Lima mayor’s office was arrested with him. The alleged perpetrator of the homicide is hospitalized after being attacked by protesters.
In addition to the deceased, Wednesday’s day left 113 injured: 84 police officers and 29 civilians, according to the consolidated balance sheet of authorities.
“Special powers”
This Thursday, Jerí appeared before Congress to ask for “legislative powers” that would allow him to face the insecurity crisis.
The president hopes to approve emergency measures without going through the approval of parliamentarians.
“We want to request legislative powers to legislate mainly on issues of citizen security (…) which is the main problem,” the president told reporters.
“Within them is the issue of prisons,” from where the gangs extort, Jerí commented, without detailing the type of intervention he hopes to apply in the prisons.
Motion of censure
For its part, the Peruvian Congress announced that it will vote on a motion of censure against President José Jerí, just days after his appointment, for police repression during the massive protests on Wednesday.
Deputies from the Socialist Caucus presented a motion that also includes the Congress board of directors, after gathering the 20 signatures required by the chamber for its admission to debate.
The signatories consider that the president “lost all legitimacy of Parliament and reinforces the perception that political parties act based on their particular interests and not the well-being of the Nation,” according to the text to which the newspaper had access. The Republic.
If the motion is approved, Jerí would have to immediately resign as head of State and the presidency of Congress, whose members would have to elect a new board of directors, headed by a new president of the Legislature, who would temporarily assume leadership of the country.
Added to this initiative is the motion prepared by the Together for Peru–Voices of the People bloc against Jerí, for what they consider “a moral obligation,” according to deputy Guillermo Bermejo, who assured that he coordinates the measure with other parliamentary groups.
“I’m not going to give up”
Popular discontent in Peru surpasses the current situation. The protests target the unpopular political class, shouting that “everyone leave.”
Peru has gone through seven governments in the last decade, including the one that replaced Boluarte.
“I’m not going to resign, I’m going to continue with the responsibility,” Jerí responded to the press about his permanence in office.
The head of state again regretted the death of the protester in Lima, but insisted that the protest was taken over by a small group that wanted to impose “chaos.”
“In a rule of law, the guarantees of all protesters and law enforcement are protected, but that small group (of protesters) sought to generate chaos,” he declared.
In the last month, almost 200 people have been injured during protests in central Lima, including police, protesters and journalists.
As part of the protests, Generation Z has waved the One Piece flag, the new symbol of global youth protest against bad government wherever it exists.
