[1] On 20 October 2020, political factions Union for Peru, Podemos Perú, and Broad Front co-signed a series of articles of impeachment against President Vizcarra for alleged cases of corruption during his term as the governor of Moquegua.
Vizcarra became the third president to have been successfully impeached and removed from office, along with Guillermo Billinghurst (1914) and Alberto Fujimori (2000).
Reported involvement of the ethnocacerist politician Antauro Humala and the introduction of charges by his party Union for Peru in both impeachment trials also raised concerns about the motives of removing Vizcarra.
[11] Humala was sentenced to 19 years in prison following his Andahuaylazo uprising against President Alejandro Toledo that resulted in the deaths of police.
On 12 September 2020, renowned reporter Gustavo Gorriti wrote that Merino had contacted the Commanding General of the Peruvian Navy, Fernando Cerdán, notifying him that he was going to attempt to impeach Vizcarra and was hoping to assume the presidency.
A second report was later released that Merino had contacted officials throughout Peru's government while preparing to create a transitional cabinet.
After the first attempt failed, Edgar Alarcón of Union for Peru raised a new vacancy request in October 2020, based on the alleged acts of corruption by Vizcarra when he was regional Governor of Moquegua, which includes the testimony of an applicant to an effective collaborator in the "Construction Club Case" who stated that Obrainsa company paid him 1 million soles and three other aspiring effective collaborators also point out that he received 1.3 million soles from the Ingenieros Civiles y Contractors Generales SA consortium (ICCGSA), and Incot for the tender of the project for the construction of the Regional Hospital of Moquegua in 2013.
[14] The new impulse to the vacancy motion came, then, at the initiative of the left party Union for Peru, Broad Front, Podemos Perú, Popular Action and a number of independents.
[17] On October 27, Martos said that his statements were misinterpreted and stated that "We will never use [in reference to the government] the Armed Forces in political acts beyond their function.
Likewise, the president of the Council of Ministers Walter Martos pointed out that "a group of congressmen is breaking the Constitution" and considered that it is "tremendously irresponsible" that a second vacancy motion is raised.
[20] On the other hand, part of the congressmen of the Broad Front, specifically the congressmen Mirtha Vásquez and Rocío Silva Santisteban, expressed that they would not support the vacancy motion and issued a statement in which they said that "We cannot and do not want to stop putting life first, and especially life, at the risk of a fresh start to change health strategies that could lead to more and more deaths.
[22] Shortly before the vacancy vote, Vizcarra and his ministerial staff learned that many congressmen had turned away from supporting him and calls to legislators were not being answered.
[25] Convicted The Organization of American States (OAS), through a statement, mentioned that “it wishes to express its concern about the political situation taking place in Peru.
Taking into account the context of the pandemic - unfortunately still in force - and its effects on health and human lives," also stating that "Peru has shown to have institutional strength to overcome previous political crises.