The Peruvian Congress's ouster of interim president Dina Boluarte for "permanent moral incapacity," which was announced overnight on Thursday, October 9, was met with joy across Peru. Hundreds gathered outside the Congress building and presidential palace in Lima's historic center, waving the national flag and expressing their relief at being rid of a deeply unpopular president, whose disapproval rate had risen to over 90% and who had come to symbolize the government's corruption and incompetence.

Her administration had been held responsible for the violent crime that has plagued the country, a dangerous situation that has claimed more than 5,000 lives over three years. Yet dissatisfaction persisted. "Congress is also responsible for this crisis," and "Dina is gone, now it's Congress's turn! We want them all gone!" chanted the protesters, at the same time as José Jeri, the 38-year-old president of Parliament, who has been accused of rape and influence peddling, was sworn in to replace Boluarte as interim president.

Boluarte became interim president in December 2022, after the left-wing president, Pedro Castillo, was impeached. She was supposed to serve until July 2026. When she first took office, analysts doubted she would last long. Yet she managed to stay in power for almost three years, thanks to support from the right and far right, and survived seven previous attempts to oust her. This time, her former allies, first and foremost the fujimoristas, supporters of the right-winger Keiko Fujimori, abandoned her. The opposition condemned the move as "pure political calculation."

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