Pressure on unelected Peruvian President Dina Boluarte continued to mount on Monday, with legislators submitting a request to parliament to remove her from office. The accusation of “permanent moral incapacity” was made three days after police broke down the front door of Ms Boluarte’s residence to search for luxury watches as part of an investigation into alleged corruption.

The request was submitted by members of various parties including Free Peru, to which Ms Boluarte once belonged. She can be forced out if 87 of the 130 MPs vote for her removal. At present, five parties with a combined 54 votes have expressed support for the president following the raid.

Ms Boluarte is being investigated for allegedly acquiring an undisclosed collection of luxury watches since becoming vice-president and social inclusion minister in July 2021 and after her appointment as president in December 2022. She denies the accusations but the investigators are not convinced and the probe is on..

In their request, the MPs cite the investigation against Ms Boluarte as well as nationwide problems such as rising crime. On Friday night, armed police officers used a battering ram to break down the front door of Ms Boluarte’s house in search of Rolex watches.

The probe began in mid-March after a television programme spotlighted Ms Boluarte wearing a Rolex watch worth up to £11,000. Other TV shows later mentioned at least two more Rolexes. Ms Boluarte did not list the three watches to an obligatory asset declaration form.

On Monday, she lost three cabinet members when the ministers of interior, education and women resigned. Ms Boluarte came to power in December 2022. Parliament appointed her as sitting vice-president to replace elected socialist President Pedro Castillo, whom it had just removed.. Castillo, a left wing political leader was elected president in the last national elections by defeating the right wing candidate. The Socialist president was carrying on pro people reforms but in December 2022, he was charged of corruption practices and investigations started.

Castillo tried to take over the powers of Parliament as there was a motion against him and he was going to be defeated.. Castillo was then arrested and the investigations are on.. In the last sixteen months since th elected president was ousted, Peru faced severe political turmoil as the supporters of left wing groups held demonstrations against Castillo’s ouster and alleged conspiracy. They have been demanding restoration of Presidential position to Castillo.

The latest investigations against the incumbent president Boluarte have opened up an opportunity for the left wing supporters of Pedro Castillo to intensify the movement for holding fresh elections in Peru. The Boluarte government has become very unpopular and she has lost the confidence of her own party.

Experts say that the political risk outlook in Peru in 2024 is marked by significant levels of uncertainty. Peru’s embattled president, Dina Boluarte, has an approval rating of only 8 percent. She is currently facing down accusations that she violated Peruvian laws by failing to disclose a number of assets she acquired since taking office, including a collection of Rolex watches. One of Boluarte’s key ministers resigned on Monday April 1 in response to the turmoil. Efforts to prosecute Peru’s president take place in a context in which legislators are working to expand and entrench their own power, at the expense of the other branches of government. In order to discuss what’s ahead for Peru’s economy in 2024.

Peruvians are also frustrated with living with the effects of institutional weakness. The 2023 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index ranks Peru as 88th out of 142 countries, worse than Brazil or Argentina. Transparency International ranked Peru as 121st out of 180 countries in its 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index.

At the same time, lawmakers in Peru are largely ignoring the issue that voters are most concerned about: crime. Peru recorded 1,105 murders in 2023, 49 percent of which occurred in the Lima area. President Boluarte took l no worthwhile steps to control the criminal activities. The middle class citizens of Peru are fed up with insecurity in the environment.. Over the past few years, Peru has witnessed continued entry of criminal gangs from Columbia and Venezuela.

Around 9 in 10 Peruvians disapprove of President Boluarte. Peru’s Central Bank estimates that the country’s economy contracted by 0.5 percent in 2023. In 2024, Peru’s economy is unlikely to start booming again. The IMF estimates that Peru’s economy could grow by 2.5 percent in 2024. Many foreign executives, especially in the mining sector, are likely to be wary about investing in new projects in Peru..The industrial investment will suffer. Peru is this faced with both political and economic crisis accentuating in 2024. (IPA Service)