Francisco Sagasti in the context of 2019–2020 Peruvian constitutional crisis

An ongoing long-term political crisis began in Peru during the presidency of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in late 2016 and has substantially worsened under the rule of his various successors. The crisis has been marked by mass protests, labor strikes, corruption scandals, rising crime levels, political violence, and political instability that has led the country into a state of democratic backsliding and emerging authoritarianism.

Under Kuczynski's term, Peru had a divided government, with the Congress of the Republic being held by the right-wing opposition parties of Popular Force and its allies. This state of division within the government led to conflict between the executive and legislative branches of government. After a series of corruption scandals and attempts to remove him, Kuczysnki resigned under major pressure in March 2018. His successor, Martín Vizcarra, led a more confrontational approach towards Congress, vowing major reforms against corruption. As a result of the conflict, Vizcarra dissolved Congress in September 2019, sparking a constitutional crisis and snap legislative elections in January 2020, which led to Popular Force to lose its majority in Congress. Vizcarra would later be impeached and then removed from office in November 2020, with Congress installing Manuel Merino as president. The removal was widely categorized as a coup d'état, which led to mass protests and Merino's resignation after five days in office. He was later replaced with Francisco Sagasti.

Manuel Arturo Merino de Lama (born 20 August 1961) is a Peruvian politician who briefly served as President of Peru for five days between 10 and 15 November 2020. He also served as the President of Congress from 16 March 2020 to 15 November 2020. He was a Member of Congress (AP) representing the Tumbes constituency for the 2001–2006, 2011–2016, and 2020–2021 terms.

On 9 November 2020, the Congress impeached and removed President Martín Vizcarra from office on the grounds of "moral incapacity", a vague term dating back to the 19th century, relating to "mental incapacity" or "mental retardation". The move was seen as a coup by many Peruvians, with Vizcarra's removal resulting in the beginning of the 2020 Peruvian protests. The following day, as the President of the Peruvian Congress, Merino became the new president of Peru following the line of succession established in the nation's constitution. Five days after taking office, he resigned from the presidency after two deaths in the protests. Polls showed that 94% of Peruvians had disapproved of Merino's accession to the presidency. He was succeeded by Francisco Sagasti.