Peruvian President Dina Boluarte appeared in court on Monday for a case that could earn her more than a new profile: a nose operation in July 2023 kept secret and qualified since her revelation of abandonment of post.
Dina Boluarte presented herself in the morning at the public prosecutor’s office in Lima, where she was questioned for more than four hours before leaving without making a statement. This is the first time she has testified in this affair, which could lead to a request for dismissal from Parliament.
The scandal erupted on December 5 after her former Prime Minister Alberto Otarola revealed that the leader had had a nose job without informing Parliament, as required by law, due to the risk of complications to her health.
The prosecution then opened an investigation to determine whether Dina Boluarte, a 62-year-old lawyer, committed an “offense of abandonment of position” and failed to inform the government and Parliament of this operation.
Violation of the Constitution
According to some parliamentarians and jurists, Dina Boluarte violated the Constitution, which could lead to a process of impeachment or vacancy.
In a message to the country on December 13, the leader confirmed the operation carried out in 2023, but specified that it was necessary for her health. “It was not a cosmetic procedure, but a necessary and essential intervention for my health,” she declared, assuring that the operation had not caused her any type of disability and had not obstructed the exercise of her duties as president.
-Dina Boluarte ruled out in December resigning because of this affair and assured that she would “leave the (presidential) palace through the front door” at the end of her mandate in July 2026.
Popularity rating at its lowest
Dina Boluarte, whose popularity rating is at its lowest, is the subject of several other investigations including the so-called “Rolexgate” investigation, relating to luxury watches and jewelry, which she would not have declared.
She is also being prosecuted for her alleged responsibility in the repression of the demonstrations which broke out during her accession to power in early December 2022 after the dismissal of former president Pedro Castillo. The repression left at least 50 dead.
In more than eight years, Peru has had six different presidents, in the worst wave of political instability in its modern history.
