Martín Vizcarra Odebrecht Lava Jato OSP CYC GColIH
67th President of Peru
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 March 2018
Prime Minister	Mercedes Aráoz César Villanueva Salvador del Solar
Vice President	Mercedes Aráoz (2nd)
Preceded by	Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
President pro tempore of the Pacific Alliance
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 July 2018
Preceded by	Juan Manuel Santos
First Vice President of Peru
In office 28 July 2016 – 23 March 2018
President	Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
Preceded by	Marisol Espinoza
Succeeded by	Vacant
Ambassador of Peru to Canada
In office 18 October 2017 – 23 March 2018
President	Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
Preceded by	Marcela López Bravo
Succeeded by	Carlos Gil de Montes Molinari
Minister of Transport and Communications
In office 28 July 2016 – 22 May 2017
Prime Minister	Fernando Zavala
Preceded by	José Gallardo Ku
Succeeded by	Bruno Giuffra
Governor of the Moquegua Region
In office 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2014
Preceded by	Jaime Rodríguez Villanueva
Succeeded by	Jaime Rodríguez Villanueva
Personal details
Born	Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (1963-03-22) 22 March 1963 (age 56) Lima, Peru
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Peruvians for Change
Spouse(s)	Maribel Díaz Cabello
Children	4
Alma mater	National University of Engineering

Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo OSP (American Spanish: [maɾˈtin alˈβeɾto βisˈkara koɾˈnexo] (listen) ^[a]; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who is the 67th and current President of Peru. Vizcarra previously served as Governor of the Moquegua department (2011–2014), Minister of Transport and Communications of Peru (2016–2017), and Ambassador of Peru to Canada (2017–2018).

In the 2016 general election, Vizcarra ran with the Peruanos Por el Kambio party as candidate for first vice president and as running mate of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

Vizcarra was sworn into office as president on 23 March 2018 following the resignation of President Kuczynski.^[1][2]

Early life[edit]

Vizcarra was born in Lima, the son of César Vizcarra Vargas, who was an APRA member, and Doris Cornejo, a teacher of primary education. His father was mayor of Moquegua and member of the Constituent Assembly of 1978. His family was based in Moquegua, but moved to Lima due to a pulmonary complication that put him on the verge of death at his birth.

Regarding his father, Vizcarra stated he left a lasting impact on his life.^[3]

Education[edit]

Vizcarra studied at the IEP Juan XXIII and the GUE Simón Bolívar, in Moquegua. For university education, Vizcarra graduated from the National University of Engineering in Lima in 1984^[4] while also earning a degree in Management Administration from the School of Business Administration (ESAN).^[5]

Political career[edit]

Governor of Moquegua[edit]

His political ambitions began in his home region of Moquegua, where he ran under the APRA party for the governorship in 2006, narrowly missing election.^[3] In 2008, Vizcarra led protests, known as "Moqueguazo", surrounding unequal mining payments to the community.^[3] He travelled to Lima to mediate the crisis, explaining the payment issue to the Peruvian Council of Ministers who agreed to make necessary changes to laws surrounding the issue. This event inspired Vizcarra's further political ambitions.^[3]

In 2011, Vizcarra was elected to be Governor of Moquegua. During his tenure, social indexes improved and he avoided corruption issues, an achievement The Washington Post described as "one of the rare examples" in Peru. He also conciliated another mining conflict between mining company Anglo American and residents concerned about potential drinking water contamination by a proposed copper mine, playing a major role in settling the dispute. Vizcarra served as governor until the end of 2014.^[3]

Vizcarra waving to the public during a Peruvians for Change rally.

Vice presidency[edit]

Vizcarra was elected into the office of First Vice President of Peru in 2016 general election, running beside Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of the Peruanos Por el Kambio party. Shortly after being elected, he was tasked with serving in other ministries.

Minister of Transportation and Communications[edit]

As Minister of Transportation and Communications, Vizcarra served for about one year. During a series of floods in late 2017 and early 2018 which devastated much of Peru, he was tasked with managing the crisis.

With allegations of bribery and bureaucracy plaguing the construction of the Chinchero International Airport in Cusco, Vizcarra cancelled many contracts until an investigation by the Comptroller's Office was completed. After facing complaints by political opponents and being summoned to provide hours of testimony surrounding the project, all while being tasked with providing reconstruction following the flooding that affected Peru, Vizcarra resigned his position as minister. Shortly after his resignation, the Comptroller General Edgar Alarcón recommended legal action against ten officials involved with the airport's construction.^[6]

Analysts stated that overall, Vizcarra's performance as minister was positive, though it was plagued by complications from the Fujimori family's political forces, known as Fujimoristas.^[7]

Ambassador to Canada[edit]

After resigning from the previous ministry, he was appointed to be the Peruvian Ambassador to Canada, avoiding public attention.^[3] He only returned to Peru during the first impeachment proceedings against President Kuczynski,^[8] leaving to Canada shortly after the incident.

President of Peru[edit]

Following the resignation of President Kuczynski, Vizcarra returned to Peru to assume the presidency on 23 March 2018.^[9] Upon being sworn in, Vizcarra stated in regards to corruption, "we've had enough", promising to lead against such practices in the Andean nation.^[10]

Peruvian author and Nobel laureate in Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, stated that Vizcarra's "credentials are pretty good" and that although other Peruvian politicians have faced political controversy, Vizcarra "has acted within the law". Vargas Llosa also noted that if Vizcarra's popularity were to increase enough, "then immediately in Congress, the Fujimoristas will forget their internal struggles and will probably make life difficult for him".^[11]

Climate change[edit]

On 17 April 2018, President Vizcarra signed the Law for Climate Change, allowing for more funding toward the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) to monitor and combat climate change by analyzing greenhouse gas emissions while also creating a framework of inter-ministerial cooperation regarding the climate.^[12][13]

The signing made Peru the first country in South America to have a climate law, with Vizcarra stating that climate change could no longer be ignored and that the Government of Peru had an obligation to work together to provide a better environment for future Peruvians.^[12][13]

2018 Peruvian constitutional referendum[edit]

Following multiple corruption scandals facing the Peruvian government, on 28 July 2018, President Vizcarra called for a nationwide referendum to prohibit private funding for political campaigns, ban the reelection of lawmakers and to create a second legislative chamber.^[14]

The Washington Post naively stated that "Vizcarra’s decisive response to a graft scandal engulfing the highest tiers of the judiciary ... has some Peruvians talking of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore integrity to public life and revive citizens’ waning faith in democracy".^[15] Leftist lawmaker Marisa Glave, who was once a critic of Vizcarra, praised the move saying he had "connected with the people in a society that is both fed up with corruption but also deeply apolitical. It has put the Fujimoristas in check".^[15]Transparency International also praised the move, stating that "This is a very important opportunity, one that is unlike previous opportunities because, in part, the president appears genuinely committed".^[15] but all actions were sabotaged by corrupted Judiciary Authorities.

Following the temporary detention of Keiko Fujimori, legislators belonging to American Popular Revolutionary Alliance and the Fujimorista-led Popular Force introduced a bill the following day on 11 October 2018 to remove Vizcarra's referendum proposals and to modify the referendum with their own suggestions to the public.^[16]

On 9 December 2018, Peruvians ultimately accepted three of four of the proposals in the referendum, only rejecting the final proposal of creating a bicameral congress when Vizcarra withdrew his support when the Fujimorista-led congress manipulated the proposals contents which would have removed power from the presidency.^[17]

Public image[edit]

During Vizcarra's inauguration ceremony, some Peruvians took to the streets to protest against the government, calling for the removal of all politicians.^[10] Weeks later, an Ipsos survey in April 2018 found that out of those asked Vizcarra had an approval rate of 57%, a disapproval rate of 13% while about 30% of respondents were undecided.^[18] A month later, Vizcarra's approval rating dipped to 52% according to a May 2018 Ipsos survey.^[19]

By September 2018 after he had called for a referendum, thousands of Peruvians marched in support of his proposal and to protest against Congress.^[20]

Political ideology[edit]

Vizcarra is described as a centrist^[21] and he has attributed his political beliefs as stemming from his father, with Vizcarra saying that his guidance made him concerned about social issues.^[3] He is pro-business and values his ability to "know how to listen" and to "go step by step", with his supporters often describing him as a bridge builder who is able to mediate complicated situations.^[3]

Honours[edit]

National honours[edit]

As President of Republic of Peru

• 
   Peru: Grand Master of the Order of the Sun of Peru
  


• 
   Peru: Grand Master of the Order of Merit for Distinguished Service
  


• 
   Peru: Grand Master of the Military Order of Ayacucho
  

Foreign honours[edit]

Vizcarra receiving the Keys to the City of Madrid next to Manuela Carmena.

• 
   Portugal: Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry (25 February 2019)^[22]
  


• 
   Spain: Knight of the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (February 2019)^[23]
  


• 
  Keys to the City of Madrid (27 February 2019)^[24]
  

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martín Vizcarra.

• 
  Biography by CIDOB (in Spanish)