Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo[c] OSP CYC GColIH (Latin American Spanish: [maɾˈtin alˈβeɾto βisˈkara koɾˈnexo] ⓘ;[d] born 22 March 1963)[2] is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020.

[3][4] Throughout his tenure, Vizcarra remained independent from political parties, promoted reforms against corruption in the legislative and judicial branches, and vowed to not run for president when his term would end in 2021.

As a result, Peru's gross domestic product declined thirty percent, increasing political pressure on Vizcarra's government.

On 30 September 2019, following what he described as a "factual denial of confidence" against his government, Vizcarra dissolved the Peruvian Congress and issued a decree for legislative elections.

In September 2020, Congress opened impeachment proceedings against Vizcarra on grounds of "moral incapacity", accusing him of influence peddling after audio recordings were released by an opposition legislator, but the process did not receive enough votes to remove him from office.

On 16 April 2021, former President Vizcarra was banned from holding public office for 10 years after allegedly jumping the line to get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Vacunagate controversy, by an 86–0 vote in Congress.

[19] His political ambitions began in his home region of Moquegua, where he ran as an independent affiliated with the APRA party for the governorship in 2006, narrowly missing election.

During his tenure, social indexes improved and he avoided corruption issues, an achievement The Washington Post described as "one of the rare examples" in Peru.

[21] With allegations of bribery and bureaucracy plaguing the construction of the Chinchero International Airport in Cusco, Vizcarra cancelled many contracts until an investigation by the Comptroller's Office was completed.

Shortly after his resignation, the Comptroller General Edgar Alarcón recommended legal action against ten officials involved with the airport's construction.

Vargas Llosa also noted that if Vizcarra's popularity were to increase enough, "then immediately in Congress, the Fujimoristas will forget their internal struggles and will probably make life difficult for him".

[28][29] Following multiple corruption scandals facing the Peruvian government, on 28 July 2018, President Vizcarra called for a nationwide referendum to prohibit private funding for political campaigns, ban the reelection of lawmakers and to create a second legislative chamber.

[5] The Washington Post stated that "Vizcarra’s decisive response to a graft scandal engulfing the highest tiers of the judiciary ... has some Peruvians talking of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore integrity to public life and revive citizens’ waning faith in democracy".

[30] Leftist lawmaker Marisa Glave, who was once a critic of Vizcarra, praised the move saying he had "connected with the people in a society that is both fed up with corruption but also deeply apolitical.

[33] Vizcarra enacted a constitutional process on 29 May 2019 that would create a motion of no confidence towards congress if they refused to cooperate with his proposed actions against corruption.

[33] Vizcarra and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights criticized congress for blocking a proposal for general elections while it quickly approved nominations to the Constitutional Court of Peru without investigating the backgrounds on nominees.

[33] Vizcarra sought to reform the Constitutional Court nomination process and congress' approval or disapproval of his proposal was seen "as a sign of confidence in his administration".

[6] According to Americas Quarterly, the four main right-wing parties of congress – Alliance for Progress, Podemos Perú, Popular Action and Union for Peru – feared Vizcarra's anti-corruption measures on campaign financing, political transparency and the participation of convicted persons in government.

[41] Vizcarra's government has responded to the pandemic by maintaining a nationwide lockdown since 15 March 2020, with all businesses except pharmacies, food vendors, financial institutions, and health facilities being closed.

I am not running away" and that the "audios have been edited and maliciously manipulated; as you can see, they purposely seek to turn a job-related claim into a criminal or political act, wanting to take words out of context and intend to accuse me of non-existent situations.

[12][13][14][15] It is suggested that the audios about alleged bribes were influenced and promoted by prosecutor Germán Juárez Atoche, with the collaboration of employees of Obrainsa, a company in Moquegua.

An editorial in La República in 2020 indicated that the regular leaks and the adoption of their content by politicians who supported the impeachment, as well as the change of attitude of lawyers towards the previously criticized prosecutors, offered an answer to those who questioned these events.

[71] On 18 March 2024, the Peruvian Public Prosecutor's Office raided the home of Martin Vizcarra, in the most luxurious neighborhood of the country, in the midst of an investigation against him for alleged corruption in a road construction program during his administration.

[74] By September 2018 after he had called for a referendum, thousands of Peruvians marched in support of his proposal and to protest against Congress,[75] with Ipsos reporting that Vizcarra's approval rating reached a peak of 66% in December 2018.

[76] By the time Vizcarra dissolved congress, The Washington Post described him as "an unexpectedly popular president" as he dealt with "the monumental task of rooting out the South American nation’s widespread corruption".

[33] After the dissolution of congress, Vizcarra's approval rating jumped from about 40% to 75% according to the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP), while 76% of respondents recognized him as the constitutional president of Peru.

[79][10] Following Peru's 2020 legislative elections that replaced an unpopular congress, The Economist wrote "By championing the fight against corruption, Mr Vizcarra has achieved the rare feat for a Peruvian president of remaining popular".

[7] Americas Quarterly penned that Vizcarra had "overwhelming public support", but without a political party or allies in congress, his anti-corruption initiatives faced resistance.

[17] Left-wing parties applauded Vizcarra's anti-corruption efforts, his dissolution of congress and his attempts to move forward with general elections.