Dina Boluarte

Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra ( (); born 31 May 1962) is a Peruvian politician, civil servant, and lawyer currently serving as the President of Peru since 7 December 2022. She had served as the first vice president and minister at the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion under President Pedro Castillo. Before then, she served as an officer at the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) from 2007 until 2022.

Boluarte is the first woman to become President of Peru. She was sworn in following a failed self-coup d'etat by President Pedro Castillo which resulted in his impeachment, ousting, and arrest. Her presidency comes during a period of political turmoil in Peru that began in 2017, as she is the sixth president in five years.

During her first few days as President, pro-Castillo protests emerged across Peru.

Early life and education

Boluarte was born in Chalhuanca, Apurímac.html" ;"title="MOS:GEOLINK for further guidance -->">MOS:GEOLINK for further guidance -->, on 31 May 1962. She graduated as a lawyer from the University of San Martín de Porres and did postgraduate studies at that university.

Early career

Boluarte is president of the Apurímac Club in Lima. She has worked at National Registry of Identification and Civil Status as an attorney and officer since 2007.

She ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Lima's Surquillo district in 2018, representing the Free Peru party. She also participated in the extraordinary parliamentary elections in 2020 for Free Peru, though she did not obtain a congressional seat.

Vice presidency (2021–2022)

Election

In the 2021 presidential election she was part of the presidential ticket of Pedro Castillo, which was victorious in the run-off.

During the campaign, Boluarte was widely viewed to position herself more moderately than Castillo, saying that she would not supported overriding the Constitutional Court of Peru, but still stated "the wealthy middle class of Lima will surely cease to be a wealthy middle class.”

Conflicts with Free Peru

On 29 July 2021, she was appointed minister of Development and Social Inclusion in the government of Pedro Castillo.On 23 January 2022, during an interview with ''La República'', Boluarte stated that she never embraced the ideology of Free Peru. The party's general secretary, Vladimir Cerrón, subsequently expelled Boluarte from Free Peru and posted on Twitter, "Always loyal, traitors never." Cerrón also claimed that Boluarte's comment threatened party unity.

Party members later requested her expulsion, stating Boluarte "does nothing more than create division and discredit the image" of Cerrón.

On 25 November 2022, she resigned from her position as the minister of Development and Social Inclusion, but remained as first vice president.

On 5 December 2022, after voting 13 in favor and 8 against, a constitutional complaint was filed by the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations against Boluarte, alleging that she operated a private club named the Apurímac Club ( es, Club Departamental de Apurímac) while she was the minister of Development.

Presidency (since 2022)

Inauguration

On 7 December 2022, during the Peruvian political crisis when Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve the Congress of the Republic of Peru during impeachment proceedings against him, Boluarte condemned the move as a "breakdown of the constitutional order" and assumed the presidency after the impeachment of Castillo. Boluarte thus became Peru's first female president.

Boluarte's presidency is the most recent instance in Peruvian history where the first vice president succeeded a president who could no longer serve, after First Vice President Martín Vizcarra became president upon the resignation of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2018. Peru has had seven presidents from 2015-2022.

In her first speech to the Congress, she denounced President Castillo and declared her will to form a national unity government to resolve the present political crisis. In the formation of her government, she consulted all the major parties, but selected no members of Congress. Instead she formed what was widely viewed as a technocratic government led by Pedro Angulo Arana, an attorney who faced 13 criminal investigations as of his appointment in December 2022, including abuse of authority, abuse of public administration, abuse of public faith, blackmail, extortion and others.

Observers commented that with growing protests and an undefined support base, Boluarte's government will likely not be given the space, either by Congress or the people, to succeed.

Recognition

Foreign leaders have been mixed in their recognition of Boluarte.

Members of the São Paulo Forum like Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Gabriel Boric of Chile recognize Boluarte. The United States has recognized Boluarte as president. Spain was also in support, championing a return to "constitutional order."

Leaders such as Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, Gustavo Petro of Colombia, Alberto Fernández of Argentina, and Luis Arce of Bolivia denounced Boluarte's government as a right wing coup in the style of Bolivia's Jeanine Áñez during the 2019 Bolivian political crisis. The later presidents continue to support Pedro Castillo's claims he is the rightful president under a "government of exception."

2022 pro-Castillo protests

According to CNN, the Boluarte government "has responded to protesters with both stick and carrot. President Boluarte has offered the possibility of holding early elections, while her Defense Minister Luis Alberto Otárola this week declared a state of emergency and deployed troops to the street." On 12 December, following protests that broke out after the removal of Pedro Castillo, President Boluarte announced that she and Congress agreed to move the next general election from April 2026 to April 2024. On 14 December, Alberto Otárola, Boluarte's defense minister, declared a state of emergency for 30 days to quell “acts of violence and vandalism.”

Responding to protests, Boluarte said she does not understand why anyone would protest against her and supported the repressive response of authorities. Boluarte's response has been widely condemed by NGOs, while being supported by more right-leaning parties in Congress. According to sociologist Carlos Reyna, "if Mrs. Boluarte does not understand why they are protesting against her, that bodes well for a very bad presidency", further stating that "A person who manages, covers up and supports the armed and police forces to shoot the bodies of unarmed civilians cannot say that he belongs to a moderate variant, ... Boluarte looks like ... the worst versions of the extreme right". Amnesty International's Americas head Erika Guevara-Rosas called for governmental restraint, saying: "State repression against protesters is only deepening the crisis in Peru." Protests have for the most part, been the most fierce and disruptive in Quechua majority regions, the center of Castillo's support. Given the harshness of the Boluarte government's response, this has led some to draw comparison between Boluarte's actions and that of previous anti-Native governments of Peru, which drew comparisons between indigenous groups and the Shining Path, as to persecute them.

Cabinet reorganization

Boluarte would make her defense minister, Alberto Otárola, her prime minister on 21 December 2022. In addition to the prime minister, she named a new interior minister, defense minister and education minister. Boluarte's new Minister of Education, Óscar Becerra, was reported to have a history of being an Fujimorist and making homophobic comments.

Personal life

Boluarte can speak Spanish and Quechua. During the 2021 Peruvian general election, she was part of Free Peru, a Marxist party; after she was expelled from the party in 2022, she adopted more moderate views and appointed liberal figures in her cabinet.

Electoral history

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Biography by CIDOB
(in Spanish)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boluarte, Dina
1962 births
Living people
People from Apurímac Region
Presidents of Peru
Vice presidents of Peru
Government ministers of Peru
Free Peru politicians
Independent politicians in Peru
Peruvian women lawyers
Female heads of government
Female heads of state
Women government ministers of Peru
Women presidents
Women vice presidents
University of San Martín de Porres alumni
20th-century Peruvian lawyers
21st-century Peruvian lawyers
21st-century Peruvian women politicians
21st-century Peruvian politicians