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Support from top military brass came a few hours after lawmakers decided to replace Martin Vizcarra with his Vice-President.
Peru's Army, Navy, Air Force and Police top commanders reaffirmed on Monday night their allegiance to President Martin Vizcarra, who had just ordered the dissolution of Congress and called for new legislative elections.
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Support of the Peruvian top military brass to the president came a few hours after lawmakers decided to replace Vizcarra with his own Vice President Mercedes Araoz.
In a very short span of time, actions stemming from both the executive and the legislative branches prompted the largest political crisis in the country over the past two decades.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people demonstrated until dawn in the streets of Lima, supporting the dissolution of Congress, an institution highly discredited by frequent corruption scandals, which have also involved four Peruvian ex-presidents.
The power struggle between the executive and the legislative occurs at a time when the Peruvian economy, which is highly dependent on exports to Asia, is experiencing a slowdown caused by the commercial war unleashed by President Donald Trump against China.
Peru is the Latin American country where corruption is the top problem for the largest number of people. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/r7N5GV0f7r
— Maxwell A. Cameron (@MaxwellACameron) October 1, 2019
Vizcarra's decision to close Congress came after lawmakers appointed one of the members of the Constitutional Court. Previously the President warned that he would suspend the legislative branch because such an appointment meant a rejection of confidence in his cabinet.
"Given the factual denial of trust, and unrestricted respect for the political constitution, I have decided to constitutionally dissolve Congress and call for congressional elections," Vizcarra said.
Last time a Peruvian president closed Congress was in 1992, when Albero Fujimori, who is currently imprisoned for crimes against human rights, alleged obstruction in security and economic issues.
Vizcarra's political action was a response to the decision of Congress to archive his project to advance general elections, which sought to end the clash between the executive and legislative branches.
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