By: Daniel Nardini

It has happened. Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned from his office instead of face an impeachment vote from the Peruvian Congress which seemed almost certain. The last impeachment vote failed, but with new allegations and video tapes emerging of corrupt dealings with corporate personnel, it seemed certain that this time Kuczynski would be impeached and probably imprisoned. Hence, his resignation was the least problematic. Kuczynski has been succeeded by his vice-president Martin Vizcarra, who has promised to try and bring stability to the nation. After all of the corruption and Kuczynski’s freeing of former dictator Alberto Fujimori, this may be better said than done. Many Peruvians hope for a change from the past, but they expect little will change.

Newly installed President Vizcarra will have to prove that he can turn things around. On the first day, President Vizcarra said that he will have a new cabinet composed of people from all political and civil organizations to weigh in on any important legislation that he may support. However, he still has to contend with a Peruvian Congress which is dominated by the Popular Force; the party controlled by Keiko Fujimori. Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of the former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori, was instrumental in ousting Kuczynski even though Kuczynski had freed Alberto Fujimori from prison for Alberto Fujimori’s crimes against political opponents and innocent Peruvians in the 1990’s. So far, Keiki Fujimori has said that she will work with the new president and try to bring stability to Peru. Will it happen? This is the question on the lips of millions of Peruvians who really want to see a new era in their nation’s history.