Peru's Attorney General Files Constitutional Complaint Against President Boluarte

The office of Peru's attorney general on Monday filed a constitutional complaint against President Dina Boluarte in an alleged corruption case involving luxury watches.

If the Congress acted on the recent complaint, which accused Boluarte of taking a bribe, the president might be removed from her position.

Following the complaint, Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen slammed the accusations, calling it "improper, unconstitutional and illegal" persecution, on local broadcaster Canal N, Reuters reported.

Adrianzen noted that the president won't get distracted by such a complaint, calling it nothing but "political noise."

This was not the first time an attempt had been made to remove Boluarte from office. Earlier this month, Peruvian lawmakers alleged she was not right for the office due to "moral incapacity."

Before that, lawmakers formally submitted a request to Parliament, demanding the removal of Boluarte from the office on grounds of "permanent moral incapacity."

The attempt was made in the wake of police forcibly entering her residence three days earlier to search for luxury watches as part of an ongoing investigation.

Boluarte became the president after Pedro Castillo's ouster last December, which resulted in social unrest and several protests across the country, leading to the death of at least 49 citizens.

The 61-year-old Boluarte was a lawyer who came from a humble background before entering Castillo's government on a salary of $8,136 per month in July 2021. Later she took over the presidency with a lower salary of $4,200 per month, but the investigation against her started when she appeared in public with luxury watches.

Last month, Boluarte replaced six ministers, who resigned amid a political crisis sparked by the luxury watches scandal. She lost three Cabinet members when the ministers of interior, education and women abruptly resigned.

Interior Minister Víctor Torres said his resignation was due to a family matter while the heads of the Ministry of Women, Nancy Tolentino, and of Education, Miriam Ponce, did not mention any reasons.

Talking about the economic condition of the country, Peru closed the year 2023 with an inflation rate of 3.24% -- its lowest rate in the last three years.