The presidency of José María Balcázar in Peru began on February 18, 2026, after his swearing-in as President of the Republic by constitutional succession, in his capacity as President of Congress, following the impeachment of José Jerí from the presidency.
Assumption of office Overview Balcázar 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).
Election
On 17 February 2026, the Congress of the Republic removed José Jerí from the positions of president of Congress and president of the Republic, which was approved through a congressional vote of 75 votes in favor and 24 against. In response, Congress had to proceed with the election of an interim president in the country until the holding of the 2026 general elections. In this regard, Parliament carried out a vote to elect a new president due to the refusal of Fernando Rospigliosi to assume the office.
On 18 February 2026, Balcázar was elected president of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, thereby assuming the interim presidency of the Republic. The election featured two candidacies: congresswoman María del Carmen Alva, who was a member of Popular Action, and Balcázar Zelada himself. As such, his candidacy was originally presented by left-wing congressman Guido Bellido (former member of Podemos Perú), and was subsequently backed by the Free Peru caucus (Balcázar's own party). After proceeding with the vote count, Balcázar Zelada obtained 64 votes in a second round, while congresswoman Alva obtained 46 votes.
Although the vote was private, according to the Lima newspapers El Comercio and Perú 21, Balcázar's victory would have had the backing of the Alliance for Progress and We Are Peru caucuses, both categorized as aligned with the political right.
Likewise, the conservative right-wing parties Popular Renewal and Popular Force mutually accused each other of having secretly voted for Balcázar in the context of Jerí's removal.
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:
In addition, he recalled Socrates, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Alexander the Great and Mao Zedong, and spoke about chapters and remembrances from both the national history and world history.
Balcázar announced that he would evaluate the performance of all ministers and did not rule out making changes to the cabinet (no official document regarding this announcement was issued, beyond journalistic reports without direct binding effect for Balcázar).
Prime Minister Ernesto Álvarez Miranda confirmed that the ministers from Jerí's dissolved cabinet remain in office. In addition, he met with congressmen from the Free Peru party (among them Waldemar Cerrón) and from Podemos Perú. He also met with Julio Velarde (the president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru), Bernie Navarro (the United States ambassador to Peru), César Briceño (the chief of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces) and Óscar Arriola (the chief of police). The leader of Free Peru, Vladimir Cerrón, asked Balcázar through his X account to remove Arriola from the police position, due to his status as a fugitive from justice. For Cerrón, Balcázar's government represented the "symbolic recovery of the government" by Free Peru after the fall of Pedro Castillo during his attempted self-coup.
Cabinet
The cabinet of Balcázar is composed of the heads of the ministries of Peru and the prime minister or premier, gathered in the Council of Ministers of Peru. Balcázar announced his first ministers on 24 February 2026, six days after his presidential inauguration that began his government.
MinistryCabinetMinisterPartyTermStartEndNo.PCMPresident of the Council of Ministers1Miralles Denisse MirallesIndependent-pro APP24 February 202617 March 20262ArroyoLuis Arroyo SánchezIndependent17 March 202628 July 2026Ministry of Foreign Affairs1MirallesHugo de ZelaIndependent24 February 202622 April 20262ArroyoCarlos Pareja RíosIndependent23 April 202628 July 2026Ministry of Defense1MirallesLuis Arroyo SánchezIndependent24 February 202617 March 20262Arroyo Carlos Díaz DañinoIndependent17 March 202622 April 2026 Amadeo Flores CarcagnoIndependent- pro Popular Force22 April 202628 July 2026Ministry of Economy and Finance1Miralles Gerardo López GonzalesIndependent-pro APP24 February 202617 March 20262Arroyo Rodolfo Acuña NamihasIndependent17 March 202628 July 2026Ministry of the Interior1Miralles Hugo BegazoIndependent24 February 202617 March 20262Arroyo José Zapata MoranteIndependent17 March 202628 July 2026Ministry of Justice and Human Rights1MirallesLuis Jiménez BorraIndependent24 February 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Education1MirallesErfurt Castillo VeraIndependent24 February 202617 March 20262ArroyoMaría CuadrosIndependent17 March 202628 July 2026Ministry of Health1MirallesLuis Quiroz AvilésIndependent-pro APP24 February 202611 March 2026Juan Carlos VelascoIndependent11 March 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Agriculture Development and Irrigation1MirallesFelipe MezaIndependent24 February 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Labour and Employment Promotion1MirallesÓscar Fernández CáceresChristian People's Party24 February 202629 May 20262ArroyoFreddy SolanoAdelante Pueblo Unido29 May 20269 July 2026Flavio Cruz MamaniFree Peru9 July 202628 July 2026Ministry of Production1MirallesCésar Quispe LujánIndependent-pro APP24 February 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Foreign Trade and Tourism1MirallesJosé Reyes LlanosFirst the People24 February 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Energy and Mines1MirallesÁngelo AlfaroIndependent24 February 202623 March 20262ArroyoWaldir AyastaIndependent23 March 202628 July 2026Ministry of Transport and Communications1MirallesAldo PrietoIndependent-pro APP24 February 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation1MirallesWilder SifuentesIndependent-pro APP24 February 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Women and Vulnerable Populations1MirallesHary YzarraIndependent24 February 202617 March 20262ArroyoEdith ParionaIndependent17 March 202628 July 2026Ministry of the Environment1MirallesNelly Paredes del CastilloIndependent-pro APP24 February 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Culture1MirallesFátima AltabásIndependent24 February 202628 July 20262ArroyoMinistry of Development and Social Inclusion1MirallesLily VásquezIndependent24 February 202628 July 20262Arroyo
Policies Alleged pardon for Pedro Castillo During the period of internal congressional elections, the possibility of an alleged release of former president Pedro Castillo, accused of carrying out an attempted self-coup in 2022, had been raised under a possible government led by Balcázar; although later, after assuming the presidency, he told the press that "there is no pardon for Castillo on the agenda", although the next day he declared that he "would evaluate it".
Lawyer Walter Ayala submitted a formal request to absolve Castillo of his criminal charges, which was presented before the Government Palace.
Secretary General of the Government Palace and presidential advisers Wider Herrera was appointed secretary general of the Government Palace, with Herrera being the lawyer of Bertha Rojas, mother of Vladimir Cerrón, and close to Free Peru. Although later the appointment of José Torrico Huerta as secretary general of the presidential office was reported. It was revealed that Balcázar had as advisers James Castillo Osorio, a bachelor's degree holder in industrial engineering who had started working with Balcázar without having completed his studies, and who on social media had expressed, in reference to the death of Abimael Guzmán, that "People die and ideas remain, your thinking change [sic] Peru toward a good horizon".
Castillo Osorio's sympathy toward Antauro Humala was also revealed. Another identified adviser was Boris Espinoza Villanueva, head of the Treasury Unit of SUTRAN during Castillo's administration and accused as an accomplice of an official related to Cerrón who was sentenced for the crime of collusion. Cristian Omar Ríos Castillo, a law graduate and nephew of Castillo involved in trips aboard the presidential plane during his uncle's government, and Rubén Mamani Aguilar, who absolved Balcázar from a defamation complaint against him, were likewise revealed as advisers.
Other identified advisers of Balcázar were Lizett Taype Ccoicca, Marcia Chávez Cornejo and Keyla Caballero Quispe.
Subsequently, on 7 March, Torrico's resignation from the position of secretary general was revealed.
Election of prime minister On 22 February 2026, Hernando de Soto was announced as the new prime minister. On 24 February, the day of the swearing-in ceremony, rumors circulated that De Soto would no longer become prime minister. These rumors were dismissed by De Soto himself, saying that "everything continues sailing smoothly". However, the option of Denisse Miralles as the new prime minister was later considered following disagreements between De Soto and Balcázar and parties such as Free Peru. Finally, Miralles was sworn in as the new prime minister. After the swearing-in, De Soto, in an interview with the press, accused the alliance between César Acuña and Vladimir Cerrón (leaders of the parties Alliance for Progress and Free Peru respectively) of having prevented him from becoming the new prime minister and that "they did not let me be sworn in".
2026 electoral crisis
Disasters 2026 Coastal El Niño In February 2026, floods and mudslides broke out as a result of the intense rains caused by the early onset of the El Niño phenomenon on the national coasts.
Flooding from the coastal El Niño left more than 106 dead nationwide. One of the affected cities was Arequipa, which had a protection plan against the danger of flooding, an investigation carried out between 2021 and 2023 by Samuel Quisca Astocahuana, financed by the National Water Authority (ANA) and developed by the SQA-HMR Consortium. The Directorate of Meteorology and Atmospheric Environmental Evaluation of the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (Senamhi) reported that the coastal El Niño could intensify before July 2026.
On 19 February, overflows in ravines in Arequipa were reported following intense rainfall. Two fatalities were reported: Moisés Gamio Manchego, 42, who was struck by lightning during the rains, and Isidora Molina Ancasi, 85, who died after being swept away by the waters along with her granddaughter. Although both were rescued, Molina died due to the severity of her injuries, while the young woman remained in serious condition. A total of 2,301 affected people and 78 displaced persons were reported in Arequipa.