Left-wing lawmaker Jose Maria Balcazar, 83, elected president of Peru

Peru’s Congress has elected former judge and left-wing lawmaker Jose Maria Balcazar as its new president, a role that makes him head of state until July 2026. He succeeds José Jerí, who was removed from office a day earlier.

Lawmakers voted Wednesday in Lima to choose a new congressional leader after approving a censure motion against Jerí on Tuesday. Under Peru’s constitution, the president of Congress assumes the presidency when the executive post is vacant.

Balcazar, 83, was born in January 17, 1943, according to RPP Noticias. He is a lawyer by profession and a former magistrate who served as a superior court judge and as a provisional Supreme Court justice.

In 2023, while serving as president of Congress’s Education Commission, Balcazar drew criticism for remarks in which he appeared to justify child marriage, according to RPP Noticias.

Since April of last year, he has faced a constitutional complaint over alleged corruption in a case that includes former Attorney General Patricia Benavides, the outlet reported.

Balcazar’s election comes after Congress voted 75 to 24, with three abstentions, to remove Jerí from office during an extraordinary plenary session in the capital.

Jerí, 39, had assumed the presidency in October in his capacity as head of Congress after President Dina Boluarte was removed from office. Boluarte had led the executive branch following the 2022 removal and detention of President Pedro Castillo.