By Marco Aquino and Sarah Morland
LIMA (Reuters) -Peru's lawmakers swore in Congress chief Jose Jeri as the country's new president less than an hour after unanimously voting to remove President Dina Boluarte, as anger mounted over rising crime and accusations of corruption.
One of the world's least popular leaders was ousted shortly after midnight on Friday, just hours after various political blocs first presented motions for Boluarte's removal on grounds of moral incapacity.
The vote took place after several members of popular cumbia music group Agua Marina were injured in a shooting during a concert held on Wednesday in a venue belonging to the Peruvian military.
JERI CALLS FOR WAR ON CRIME
Motions for Boluarte's removal cited the economic impacts of rising crime, as well as allegations of corruption and a scandal known locally as Rolexgate over the provenance of her collection of luxury watches.
Jeri, who becomes Peru's seventh president since 2016, signaled he would take a tough approach on insecurity.
"The main enemy is out there on the streets: criminal gangs," he told Congress, wearing a sash of the national flag. "We must declare war on crime."
The 38-year-old member of the conservative Somos Peru party, who became Congress president in July, joins the ranks of some of the world's youngest heads of state.
Crowds had gathered outside Congress and Ecuador's embassy, where there had been speculation that Boluarte could seek asylum. Some people were in a celebratory mood waving flags, dancing and playing instruments.
Shortly after Congress voted to remove her, Boluarte made an address at the presidential palace where she acknowledged that the same Congress that had sworn her in late 2022 had now voted for her removal, "with the implications this has for the stability of democracy in our country."
"At every moment, I called for unity," she said.
LOSING SUPPORT
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum had late on Thursday summoned Boluarte to defend herself before Congress that same night. She never arrived, and lawmakers had sufficient votes to proceed with a rapid impeachment process.
Boluarte, 63, was deeply disliked, with approval ratings between 2% and 4%, following accusations she has illicitly profited from her office and is responsible for lethal crackdowns on protests in favor of her predecessor.
She denies wrongdoing.
Her removal continues a revolving door of leaders in the Andean nation. Three ex-leaders are currently behind bars.
Congress' vote for Boluarte's removal marks an about-turn after lawmakers rejected a series of prior motions for removal, none of which made it to the debate stage.
The latest push was marked by the participation of right-wing parties that have historically supported her, including Rafael Lopez's Popular Renewal and Keiko Fujimori's Popular Force. Both political heavyweights are expected to stand for president in April 2026.
Boluarte came to power in December 2022 as her predecessor President Pedro Castillo, under whom she had herself served as vice president, was ousted and arrested after he attempted to dissolve Congress.
Castillo's removal was met with months of widespread, deadly protests particularly in rural Andean and Indigenous communities, and rights groups have accused Boluarte's government of using excessive force to repress the protests.
She also became embroiled in allegations of illicit enrichment involving undeclared assets and watches. In July, she decided to double her salary.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino, Sarah Morland and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Kylie Madry, Bill Berkrot, Christian Schmollinger, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Timothy Heritage)
