Presidency of José María Balcázar

He was designated by an internal vote of the Congress of the Republic, in which he received 60 votes in the second round against María del Carmen Alva, and was sworn in as President of the Republic by constitutional succession, in his capacity as President of Congress, in order to complete the 2021–2026 term. He is the eighth Peruvian president in less than a decade, the fourth Peruvian president in less than five years, and the oldest president the country has had at the time of assuming office (83 years). ==Oath of office==

On February 17, 2026, the Congress of the Republic unanimously declared the censure of then-President José Jerí. Following the impeachment process, Parliament held a vote to elect a new president, due to Fernando Rospigliosi's refusal to assume the office. He was sworn in at 10:30 p.m. (Peruvian time) and assumed the presidency of the Republic according to the line of succession, becoming the fourth president of the 2021–2026 term and the eighth since 2016. During his brief inaugural address, he stated: ==Foreign policy==

In April 2026, Balcázar deferred an agreement between Peru and the United States to purchase 24 F-16 fighter jets pending the result of the 2026 Peruvian general election, saying that he did not have the legitimacy as interim leader to follow through on the deal. In response, both defense minister Carlos Díaz Dañino and foreign minister Hugo de Zela resigned in protest. == References ==