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Peru president dissolves Congress but legislators defy order Peru in turmoil after President Vizcarra dissolves Congress
(about 4 hours later)
A political crisis in Peru has deepened after President Martín Vizcarra dissolved Congress, saying the body was blocking his anti-corruption measures. Peru has been thrown into political crisis after President Martín Vizcarra made good on a threat to dissolve Congress unless lawmakers backed his anti-corruption reforms.
The opposition-run Congress then voted to suspend Mr Vizcarra, naming Peru's vice-president as new leader. Opposition lawmakers, who are in the majority in Congress, said the dissolution amounted to a coup d'etat.
But officials said their move was void, as the chamber had already been closed. They suspended Mr Vizcarra and swore in Vice-President Mercedes Aráoz as acting leader.
Hundreds of Mr Vizcarra's supporters gathered outside the Congress building in the capital, Lima, to cheer the decision, while riot police stood by. Meanwhile, Mr Vizcarra decreed that fresh elections be held on 26 January.
The chaotic scenes came as Peru was still reeling from the fallout of a massive corruption scandal involving the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. Who is in charge now?
"Peruvian people, we have done all we could," Mr Vizcarra said in a televised statement, announcing that he had invoked a constitutional article allowing presidents to dissolve Congress. Mr Vizcarra and Ms Aráoz each claim to be the legitimate leader of Peru.
The drastic move, he said, was necessary in order to hold new legislative elections after parliamentarians failed to pass his reforms and, last week, refused a bill to hold a snap election. Mr Vizcarra argued that his move to dissolve Congress was constitutional, but opposition lawmakers said it was dictatorial and have refused to leave the building.
But opposition legislators responded by calling him a "dictator" and voted to declare him temporarily suspended, naming Vice-President Mercedes Aráoz as a replacement. A majority of 86 out of 130 members of Congress then voted in favour of suspending Mr Vizcarra for a year. They also declared Ms Aráoz acting president.
Mr Vizcarra was sworn in last year after his predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, resigned over allegations of corruption. Ms Aráoz said she was "temporarily assuming the presidency of the Republic".
Peru's three other most recent presidents have been linked to the Odebrecht scandal - which saw executives from the construction firm confess to having paid bribes to politicians in exchange for contracts in various parts of the world. But a government source said the vote and swearing-in of Ms Aráoz were null and void because they had occurred after Congress had been dissolved.
Who is backing whom?
The heads of the armed forces and the police have thrown their weight behind Mr Vizcarra, releasing statements saying that they recognised him as the constitutional president and commander-in-chief.
The presidency's press office also published a photo showing the commanders of the army, navy, air force and the police attending a meeting chaired by Mr Vizcarra at the presidential palace in Lima.
Thousands of people also gathered outside the Congress building to show their support for Mr Vizcarra.
But opposition lawmakers said Mr Vizcarra overstepped his powers when he dissolved the democratically elected Congress. They called his move unconstitutional and him a dictator.
They sang the national anthem and refused to leave Congress while pledging their loyalty to Vice-President Aráoz.
What happens next?
The stand-off between opposition members of Congress and Mr Vizcarra is likely to continue over the coming days with Congress planning to meet again on Friday to vote on a motion to dismiss President Vizcarra altogether.
Mr Vizcarra has issued a decree setting new elections for 26 January. "This exceptional measure will permit the citizenry to finally express themselves and define, at the polls and through their participation, the future of our country," he said.
Meanwhile, a legal battle is expected to kick off to determine if the dissolution of Congress was constitutional or not.
How did it come to this?
Mr Vizcarra was sworn in in March 2018 after his running mate and then-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned over a vote-buying scandal.
He said he would fight graft head-on, which endeared him to Peruvians tired of endless corruption scandals that have tainted not only Mr Kuczynski but also the three previous Peruvian presidents.
Peru's scandal-tainted presidents:
For more on Odebrecht read: Brazil's Odebrecht corruption scandal explained
Mr Vizcarra says Congress, which is dominated by the right-wing Popular Force party led by Keiko Fujimori, blocked him from passing a raft of anti-corruption measures.
Ms Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, is in jail awaiting trial for allegedly accepting illegal funds from Odebrecht.
Mr Vizcarra accused her party of trying to shield itself from corruption investigations by obstructing his reforms.
"The parliamentary majority resorts to innumerable arguments and tricks, destined to harm not just government but society as a whole," he said in a televised address.
He also argued that Congress's appointment of a new judge to the constitutional court would interfere with his efforts to stamp out corruption.
Among other things, the court is soon due to decide whether to free Keiko Fujimori from pre-trial detention.