The president’s “nose plastic surgery” sparks a political crisis in Peru…and demands that she step down

Nice Koura writes: The fact that Peruvian President Dina Boluarte underwent a rhinoplasty operation sparked a political crisis this week, which reached the point of calling for her to step down due to the fact that no one was authorized to assume her responsibilities during the surgery.

The 62-year-old Boluarte performed the operation in the summer of 2023, and the local press and users of social media platforms mentioned it repeatedly during the recent period, but it was not officially confirmed until Tuesday in a parliamentary hearing held by former Prime Minister Alberto Utarola.

Otarola told lawmakers investigating the matter that the president “told me that she was going to have a rhinoplasty…nose surgery, but because of breathing problems.”

The parliamentary committee is investigating Bolwarti’s whereabouts between June 28 and July 10, 2023, when she completely disappeared from public view. According to local media, the president during that period performed the operation at a medical center in Lima without announcing this to the public or delegating her powers to Congress.

The former Prime Minister confirmed that the President carried out her duties remotely during her recovery period. He stressed that “there was no vacancy in power during that period, as the surgical operation did not have any serious complications.”

Lawmakers and legal experts considered what Bolwarti did to be a violation of the Constitution, demanding her removal.

Representative Juan Burgos, who heads the parliamentary oversight committee, said that what the president did “constitutes grounds for dismissal… because she had to ask Congress for permission.”

For her part, Vice President Patricia Juarez sought to downplay the controversy, considering it “a storm in a teacup.”