Peru's Congress selects centrist lawmaker Francisco Sagasti to be new leader, third in a week
Peru’s Congress chose a new leader Monday expected to become the nation’s third president in the span of a week, a hopeful sign that the political crisis is on the verge of resolution.
Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of Francisco Sagasti, an engineer from the centrist Purple Party, as the legislature’s new president. By law, the head of Congress should become the country’s new interim president.
It will now fall on Sagasti to heal a nation bruised by a week of upheaval.
The 76-year-old hails from a political party that voted against the ouster of President Martín Vizcarra - an anti-corruption crusader highly popular among Peruvians, which is likely to quell protests.
The Latin American nation’s political turmoil took a chaotic turn Sunday when interim leader Manuel Merino quit after a mere five days in office and Congress couldn’t decide on his replacement.
At: https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-peru-president-20201116-potnfa2yrjafxk7dqv55vfj4ji-story.html
Peru's new President Francisco Sagasti, who was chosen by the nation's Congress after interim President Manuel Merino resigned after 5 days in office.
The centrist Sagasti is the fourth Peruvian president since 2018, and legislators hope his appointment will end a week of massive protests against what many see as a legislative coup against popular former President Martín Vizcarra.
The country's 33 million people await a ruling from the Constitutional Tribunal to determine the validity of Vizcarra's November 10th impeachment.
