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In October, the Peruvian Congress impeached the previous head of state, Dina Boluarte.
Jery was not removed by impeachment, but by a vote of no confidence. Members of Congress began to demand his resignation when it became known that he had met several times with a Chinese businessman of ambiguous reputation without officially reporting it. The president apologized for not disclosing these conversations but denied having done anything illegal.
Jery was already Peru's seventh president since 2016. On Wednesday, Congress is expected to appoint a new head of state, but this person will only hold office for a few months — until the presidential elections, which are scheduled for April.
Peru is a record-holder in Latin America for the number of former heads of state who have been sentenced to prison terms in the 21st century.
Of the 11 presidents who governed Peru in the last 25 years, more than half have faced criminal prosecution.
Many cases are related to the Brazilian construction corporation Odebrecht. An investigation by the US Department of Justice into cooperation with several Latin American countries revealed that the company likely gave bribes and interfered in elections in the region to secure more lucrative contracts.
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