LIMA – Who is the president of Peru?
That answer to that question early Monday was no one.
The Latin American nation’s political turmoil took a chaotic turn Sunday when interim leader Manuel Merino quit and Congress couldn’t decide on his replacement. That left Peru rudderless and in crisis less than a week after legislators ignited a storm of protest by removing President Martín Vizcarra, an anti-corruption crusader highly popular among Peruvians.
After several hours of closed-door negotiations, congressional leaders emerged in the early hours of Monday to announce that their session was recessing without any decision and would reconvene later in the day.
There are two potential exits to the ordeal: Congress could put forward a new candidate to approve with a simple majority vote or the country’s highest court could step in. But with neither route guaranteed to bring a solution, some Peruvians called for new protests and the country verged on disorder.(AP)
