Peru's Congress on Wednesday, April 3, granted a crucial vote of confidence to President Dina Boluarte's new cabinet, allowing it to proceed in office amid a scandal over the leader's luxury Rolex collection. The vote, which lawmakers passed with 70 in favor, versus 38 against and 17 abstaining, gives the green light for Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen to move forward in his post, which he took up last month.
In a speech that lasted nearly two hours, Adrianzen proposed "an administration with clean hands, a transparent government to face corruption and inefficiency." He also listed economic growth, public order, and action against drug trafficking among his government's priorities. After the vote, Adrianzen expressed "humility" and gratitude for the support, and urged lawmakers to join the government in its plans for economic revitalization and "citizen security." Adrianzen was appointed prime minister in March to form Peru's third cabinet in 16 months after his predecessor resigned over a separate scandal in which he allegedly granted political favors to a love interest. Peru's constitution requires new cabinets to go before Congress for a vote of confidence within 30 days of their appointment. If denied, Adrianzen and his cabinet would have been forced to step down – deepening the political turmoil in Peru, which has had six presidents in eight years.
The vote came as 61-year-old President Boluarte is being investigated for suspected illegal enrichment and failing to declare her luxury timepieces – a scandal dubbed "Rolexgate" by the media. On the eve of the vote, Attorney General Juan Villena announced an expansion of the probe into Boluarte's possession of a "$56,000 Cartier bracelet" and other jewelry valued at more than $500,000. Bank deposits of about $250,000 are also being investigated.
Boluarte, who assumed office in December '22 after her predecessor Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress and govern by decree (resulting in his arrest), currently holds an approval rating of around 10 percent. Subsequently, violent protests erupted, demanding Boluarte's resignation and calling for new elections.
She is also facing a constitutional complaint regarding the crackdown on those protests, which resulted in the deaths of over 50 individuals. If she is indicted in the Rolex case, a trial might not occur until after her term concludes in July 2026, or unless she is impeached, as per the Constitution.
Peru's constitution gives Congress outsized power in being able to remove presidents, with impeachment requiring only 87 votes out of 130 lawmakers. Impeachment votes can be brought on a vague "moral incapacity" provision that does not require lawmakers to show legal wrongdoing. So it would be in "Congress where it will be decided whether she remains in the presidency," said analyst Augusto Alvarez Rodrich, a columnist with La Republica newspaper.
Leftist lawmakers have presented three motions to impeach Boluarte – the latest started Monday – but none have yet advanced to debate. Alvarez said impeachment is unlikely, as Congress would prefer to avoid the risk of early elections being called. "The main forces in Congress intend to maintain the status quo as long as possible," said political scientist Carlos Melendez, from Chile's Diego Portales University. But he said it would be "a miracle" if Boluarte made it to the end of her term "because no one wants to be an ally of an unpopular president" when the 2026 elections roll around.