LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra said Monday that “delirant lies” are at the center of political turmoil in the copper-producing Andean country as struggles to block political trial procedures against him.
Vizcarra, who must finish his term in 10 months, said in a televised message that the crisis was triggered by the betrayal of a confidant and a fragmented Congress seeking to destabilize the government.
“I have to tell the Peruvians that what’s going on here is the betrayal of someone close to me,” Vizcarra said.
“I will have to repent deeply and apologize to the country because a user in the presidential workplace I trust, not for years now, created this situation. . . without any foundation,” he added.
Lawmakers voted last week to accuse Vizcarra, who has no party representation in Congress, because of a “moral incapacity” in an alleged hiring case of a little-known singer named “Richard Swing. “
The scandal erupted after leaked audio recordings were shared in Congress through members of Vizcarra’s opposition discussing meetings with the singer. Some lawmakers said the recordings showed that he minimized his appointments with the artist.
The Peruvian government filed a lawsuit in the country’s court the previous Monday in an effort to delay political trial proceedings.
However, the possible eviction gave the impression that it was losing momentum over the weekend after several political leaders opposed it, saying it would cause more turbulence, with Peru already facing its innerest recession in decades and the coronavirus pandemic.
Luis Huerta, a Justice Department attorney who filed the trial, said the government’s ruling aimed to “temporarily suspend” the indictment procedure while the Constitutional Court considered it the matter.
“The lawsuit alleges that there is an abuse through Congress of its strength to claim the disability vacuum,” he added.
On Saturday, Peruvian prosecutors searched the homes of several others involved in the case and added officials close to Biscay and the singer, who awarded government contracts for motivational interviews worth $49,500.
The vote to release the trial procedure was passed with 67 votes in favour, but genuine dismissal would require a higher threshold of 87 votes from the 130 legislators, convened by Biscay to confront lawmakers on Friday.
(Reporting through Marco Aquino; written through Adam Jourdan; edited through Jonathan Oatis)
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