Peru’s Congress on Wednesday elevated Jose Balcazar to the interim presidency, installing the 83-year-old left-wing lawmaker just days after lawmakers voted to remove interim President Jose Jeri. The vote followed revelations about undisclosed meetings Jeri had held with a Chinese businessman, prompting his ouster after four months in office.
Balcazar, a member of the Peru Libre party, had voted in favor of Jeri’s removal and secured enough congressional support to prevail over three other nominees, including center-right legislator Maria del Carmen Alva. Upon being sworn in, Balcazar will simultaneously serve as head of Congress while carrying out an interim executive role.
"We are going to work to make the elections cleaner and to have new representatives," Balcazar said after the swearing-in ceremony.
His assumption of the presidency comes amid widespread political instability and public distrust. Balcazar’s interim tenure is explicitly limited: he is to hold the office until the candidate who wins the general elections on April 12 - and, if necessary, the subsequent runoff expected in June - takes office on July 28.
Balcazar’s background is rooted in law and the judiciary. Born in Nanchoc, in the northern Cajamarca region, he holds a doctorate in law and political science. He spent decades as a university lecturer, served as a superior court judge in Lambayeque and later occupied a provisional post on Peru’s Supreme Court. Elected to Congress in 2021 to represent Lambayeque, he led the special commission responsible for selecting magistrates to the Constitutional Court and held senior roles on committees dealing with justice and education.
Controversy has followed Balcazar. During a 2023 debate on legislation to ban child marriage, he drew sharp criticism for remarks in which he asserted that sexual relations among minors were routine, citing examples that involved students and teachers. Those comments provoked swift condemnation from rights organizations and government authorities.
In addition to public backlash over his comments, Balcazar faces ethical and legal scrutiny. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into alleged influence peddling. In 2024 he was permanently expelled from the Lambayeque Bar Association over the presumed misappropriation of funds. Balcazar has denied the accusations.
As interim president, Balcazar confronts a constrained but sensitive mandate: to help preserve political stability, oversee an electoral process described in the public record as marked by high voter indecision and fragmentation, and facilitate a peaceful transfer of power on the scheduled July date. How his brief stewardship will affect Peru’s broader political trajectory and whether it will prevent a further erosion of confidence in governing institutions remains an open question.
Key details:
- Jose Balcazar, age 83, elected interim president by Congress after Jose Jeri was removed.
- Will serve until the elected winner from the April 12 general election and possible June runoff assumes office on July 28.
- Balcazar has a judicial and academic background but faces criticism for past comments on child marriage and ongoing legal and ethical probes.