Overview
- Lawmakers voted 75–24, with three abstentions, to withdraw confidence in José Jerí, ending his four months in office.
- Prosecutors opened preliminary investigations tied to Jerí’s clandestine meetings with Chinese businessman Zhihua Yang; Jerí denies committing a crime.
- Congress used a simple‑majority no‑confidence motion rather than a two‑thirds impeachment, removing Jerí from the parliamentary presidency that confers the head‑of‑state role.
- Interim congressional leader Fernando Rospigliosi declared the presidency vacant but declined to assume it, after which legislators elected José Balcázar as congressional chief, making him interim president.
- Balcázar, 83, is set to remain in office until an elected government takes over following the April 12 vote, with a June runoff expected and a transfer by late July, underscoring a decade of rapid leadership turnover.