Congress decided Friday that 58-year-old Vizcarra may not be in public office. Therefore, he may not receive his parliamentary term after his election last Sunday in the elections.
The former president is not the only one banned by Parliament. Former Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astete is banned from holding public office for a year, and former Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti is banned for eight years.
Around 500 politicians, officials and government employees are taking part in Vacunagate under the pretext of being vaccinated. They would have had covert vaccinations even before the vaccination campaign began. They say they voluntarily participated in the vaccination testing phase, but the University of Lima has already denied that this is the case for Vizcarra.
Vizcarra had been president since 2018, until Congress removed him from office last year over (other) corruption allegations. He has consistently denied the allegations, arguing that Parliament has been slowing down its anti-corruption efforts. And an investigation was opened into various crimes against about half of the members of Parliament.
