The interim president of Peru, José María Balcázar, from the left-wing Peru Libre party, is expected to be tried on charges of embezzlement in a hearing scheduled for June.
The 83-year-old politician took office as president of Peru this Wednesday (18), after the dismissal of José Jerí.
Balcázar was summoned by the Second Unipersonal Criminal Court of Chiclayo to respond to the accusation related to the events that occurred between 2019 and 2020, when he served as dean of the College of Lawyers of Lambayeque (ICAL). The complaint alleges that amounts collected by the entity had not been properly recorded or reported, and that part of the funds had been deposited in personal accounts.
According to the Peruvian Public Ministry, a formal accusation was filed against Balcázar in November 2023, with a request for a sentence and civil reparation estimated at around 770 thousand soles – Peruvian currency – approximately between US$200,000 and US$300,000. If the interim president does not attend the hearing without justification, he may be declared a persistent defendant, which would allow the process to continue and a possible arrest order.
Balcázar accumulates several problems. According to information from the local press, the interim president was removed from his position as judge of the Supreme Court in 2011 by the National Council of the Judiciary, which highlighted serious problems in the exercise of his functions. In 2022, he was expelled from the Lambayeque College of Lawyers for errors of an ethical, civil and criminal nature.
The new interim president has also been criticized for statements made in 2023 during a parliamentary debate on the ban on child marriage. At the time, he stated that “early sexual relations help a woman’s future psychological development”.
Human rights organizations criticized Balcázar, classifying his statements as justification for “sexual violence against girls and adolescents.”
Balcázar’s interim mandate extends until the end of July, when the winner of the presidential elections scheduled for April 12 will take office. He is Peru’s eighth president since 2016.
