Peru names new interim president who once supported child marriage

LIMA, Peru — Peru’s Congress elected 80-year-old leftist lawmaker José María Balcázar as the nation's interim president ahead of general elections scheduled for April.

Balcázar becomes Peru’s ninth president since 2016. The surprise election followed a vote by lawmakers to oust President José Jerí after just four months in office due to a scandal involving secret meetings with Chinese businessmen.

A member of the Peru Libre party, Balcázar took the oath of office following a four-hour legislative session. He is expected to serve until July 28, when a newly elected president is scheduled to take office.

The new leader has faced intense criticism for his 2023 opposition to a ban on child marriage. During that debate, Balcázar argued that sexual relationships involving individuals as young as 14 were normal, even between teachers and students.

When questioned recently about those remarks, Balcázar affirmed he would "not change his position."

Balcázar has also been the subject of an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of public funds. Additionally, the interim president has pledged to release Pedro Castillo, the imprisoned former leftist leader.

The ascension of José María Balcázar as Peru’s ninth president in just a decade is less a political transition and more the latest symptom of a profound institutional collapse. This chronic volatility—defined by a revolving door of leaders ousted by scandal or resignation—has fundamentally eroded public trust and transformed the nation’s once-promising economy into a high-risk environment for international investors.

In Peru’s current climate, the implementation of long-term fiscal or social policy has become functionally impossible. The selection of Balcázar, a deeply polarizing figure, only heightens the sense of systemic precariousness. His tenure begins under the shadow of past criminal investigations and international condemnation over his controversial rhetoric regarding child marriage.

More critically for the country’s rule of law, Balcázar’s pledge to secure the release of former President Pedro Castillo sets the stage for a direct constitutional collision with the judiciary. Such a move threatens to escalate the current political impasse into a full-scale crisis of the separation of powers.

For the business community and civil society, the primary concern is that Balcázar may exceed his mandate as an interim leader. Rather than acting as a caretaker to ensure transparent elections, his initial trajectory suggests a risk of further entrenching the legislative paralysis that has exhausted the Peruvian electorate and stalled the nation's development.