00:03Hello and welcome to Telesphere English. We go live to Peru as the Congress is set to announce the new
00:09interim president after the removal of the interim president, José Heri, from office just four months after he assumed power.
00:19Lawmakers opted for a censor of motion rather than impeachment, allowing his dismissal to pass with a simple majority instead
00:27of a super majority.
00:29We're listening to some state.
00:35En blanco, cero votos, nulos aviciados.
00:45No votes.
00:5234 votes in blank, zero votes annulled.
01:01In consequence, the new interim president of the Congress, the congressman José María Balcazar Salada, has been elected the new
01:14president, interim president of the Congress of Peru.
01:18He has been proclaimed as new president, interim president of Peru, José María Balcazar Salada.
01:30So, it's the new president, the new interim president we have seen right now, the proclamation of the president, the
01:38interim president of Peru, the congressman José María Balcazar.
01:50Now, the congressman, the congressman José María Balcazar, is invited to join, to be sworn in.
02:08This congressman, at this moment, he's been greeted by the, all the congressmen and congresswomen around as, has been announced
02:19that he has obtained the majority of votes and, like this, become the next interim president of the Peruvian Congress
02:29and the country.
02:34Congressman José María Balcazar Salada was appointed interim president of Peru amid a deep political crisis facing the country.
02:42At 83 years of age, congressman José María Balcazar is one of the most controversial figures in Peruvian politics as
02:50his candidacy for the presidency of Congress has generated a wave of rejections rooted in the past of at least
02:57financial and ethical irregularities.
02:59His most recent scandal is his permanent expulsion from Lambayeque Bar Association ratified in December 2024.
03:10He is accused of having appropriated more than $2,700,000, using his personal accounts to receive payment from the
03:19institution he previously led.
03:21In addition, his controversies go beyond financial issues.
03:25Balcazar openly opposed the ban on child marriage, arguing that sexual relationships at an early age were normal.
03:32After this, his position has been described as misogynistic by his own colleagues in Parliament.
03:40It is worth noting that prosecutors are also investigating him.
03:44The National Prosecutor's Office reported him in 2025 for an alleged exchange of favours with former prosecutor Patricia Benavides seeking
03:54judicial benefits in exchange for political support.
03:57In light of this, the pattern of a least lack of transparency also marked his tenure at the head of
04:04the Commission that selected the magistrates of the Constitutional Court, a process criticized for its opacity.
04:10We see live images at this time at the Peruvian Congress as the congressman, José María Balcazar, has been announced
04:18as the new interim president.
04:26We are now waiting at the swearing of the interim president, José María Balcazar, the congressman that has been recently
04:35announced.
04:37At this time, we are seeing as he is being greeted by his colleagues at the Congress after his proclamation
04:47of the new interim president,
04:50the president of Peru.
04:56Peru has been under a very deep political crisis coming from 10 years, and this is the ninth president in
05:07less than 10 years.
05:16Let's remember that this election comes after the motion of vacancy that led to the oost of interim president José
05:28Heri that was involved in several scandals.
05:34Let's remember that he was removed only four months after he assumed power, José Heri, and the lawmakers opted for
05:42a censor of motion rather than impeachment that allows his dismissal to pass with a simple majority instead of a
05:49super-majority vote.
05:50This decision extends a cycle of political upheaval that has gripped the Indian nation for most of the past decade.
05:57Legislators now have elected the new head of Congress, who now also will assume Peru's presidency, and this is Congressman
06:10José María Balcazar, becoming the country's ninth president in as many years.
06:16He is Peru's third consecutive president to be removed from office after President Dina Boluarte was also oost from office.
06:27The rapid fire to underscore how Peru's political class has failed to address border concerns like crime and corruption, leaving
06:36the country stuck in a cycle of short-lived administrations with leader time or authority to tackle problems, and a
06:44deeply unpopular Congress that seeks to gain support for removing unpopular leaders.
06:49At this time, José María Balcazar, the congressman José María Balcazar, is being sworn in.
07:00The homeland of the homeland and the Congress of the Republic for the period of session 2025-2026, he, I
07:12swear, and like this, God and homeland be awarded.
07:21And the nation is being demanded.
07:25And like this, the president, the new interim president, José María Balcazar, is being sworn in as the next interim
07:34president of the Congress and also the president of the nation of Peru.
07:43This is the moment that we are seeing life right now at Peru's Congress as the next interim president, José
07:56María Balcazar, has been elected by a majority.
08:01Now he takes seats as the president, as the president of the parliament.
08:12Now we see all the congressmen and he will listen to his address to the Congress.
08:27Presidency, ladies and gentlemen, congressmen, after the vote count and the sworn in, we just sit this night.
08:38The presidency thanks to Mr. Fernando Miguel and the president of the Congress of the Republic for this act.
08:54Dear congressmen and congresswomen, we are going to suspend this session for a brief term that we will let you
09:08know in the next time.
09:10We have this session ended. Thank you very much.
09:24And we were just live in Peru at the Congress as the next interim president, José María Balcazar, has been
09:32elected president of the republic.
09:35Following the constitutional course in order to follow the charge of the president, the congressman, José María Balcazar.
09:46We will keep you informed about this and more in the next coming news brief.
09:53Keep tuned with Telesur English for this and more.
09:56Thank you very much.
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