Peru's Congress has removed President Jose Hierro from office four months after he took office, citing undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman. This is the third Peruvian president to be removed from office by parliament in three years.
This was reported by Reuters.
Heri was Peru's eighth leader in eight years. He was removed by 75 lawmakers, 24 against, and three abstained. Now lawmakers must elect a new head of Congress, who will automatically become president.
The scandal, dubbed “Chifagate” (from the local name for Chinese restaurants), began in January 2026. Hyeri was filmed arriving at a restaurant late at night, hooded, where he met with Chinese businessman Zhihua Yang, who owns shops and a concession for an energy project. The meeting was not publicly reported by the participants.
Heri became president in October 2025 after Congress unanimously removed his predecessor, Dina Boluarte. Right-wing parties that had previously supported Boluarte withdrew their support amid corruption scandals and rising crime. Since Boluarte did not have a vice president, Heri, as then-president of Congress, was next in line for the position.
It was this temporary status that made it possible to remove him in a simpler way: unlike impeachment, which requires a majority of 87 votes out of 130, Congress voted for a vote of no confidence in Hare as Speaker of Congress. A simple majority is enough for this. Hare said he would respect the results of the vote.
Reuters writes that frequent changes of power indicate the inability of the country's political class to solve the problems that concern voters – crime and corruption.
Parliamentarian Ruth Luke, who supported the removal, called for replacing Hari with a leader who would put the public interest and safety first.
“We are asking for an end to this agony to create the transition that citizens hope for. Not a transition with hidden interests, influence peddling, secret meetings, and people in hoods. We do not want that transition,” she said.
Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington, said the lawmakers' decision was driven by electoral calculations, not principles. He said enough lawmakers decided that supporting Hari would hurt them in the election.
The current head of Congress, Fernando Rospisliosi, has refused to run for president. Parties have until 6:00 p.m. local time to submit their candidates, and the vote for the new president is scheduled for February 19.
Peru's presidential election is scheduled for April 12. Dozens of candidates are expected to run. According to an Ipsos poll, a significant portion of voters have not yet decided on a candidate.
Despite political instability, Peru's economy remains resilient, with growth in 2025 at 3.4% and inflation at 1.7%.