The Congress of Peru elected the 83-year-old left-wing parliamentarian José María Balcázar as the new president of the country this Wednesday, replacing the right-wing José Jerí, whom the Peruvian legislative body removed from office the day before, after just four months in office and with less than two months to go until the general elections. Balcázar, from the Marxist party 'Peru Libre,' with which Castillo won the 2021 elections, became the oldest head of state in the country's history and the eighth governor in almost a decade of political crisis. His mission will be to serve as interim head of state until July 28, when he must hand over the presidential leadership to the winner of the presidential elections that are already underway. In a surprising vote, as Alva was the favorite, Balcázar from the Marxist 'Peru Libre' party obtained 46 votes from the 117 legislators present in the auditorium where the session was held, compared to the 43 reached by the representative of the right-wing 'Popular Action' (AP). The new president of the Chamber will provisionally assume the head of state until the next July 28, when they will transfer power to the winner of the presidential elections to be held in April.
