Martín Vizcarra in the context of Vice President of Peru

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.

The 2019–2020 Peruvian constitutional crisis occurred between September 30, 2019, and January 14, 2020, during the presidency of Martín Vizcarra. The crisis began when President Vizcarra dissolved the Congress of Peru, citing a constitutional provision after its de facto rejection of a vote of confidence. This disbanding marked the first time such power was used by the executive, and immediately after its announcement, opposition lawmakers accused Vizcarra of staging a coup. Subsequently, Peru’s Constitutional Court declared the dissolution of Congress legal, ending the crisis.

The crisis stemmed from tensions since 2016 between the executive and the legislature, with clashes over the anti-corruption reforms proposed by Vizcarra’s government. Efforts to reform the selection process for the Constitutional Court and combat corruption were blocked by Congress, particularly by the Popular Force party led by Keiko Fujimori. In response, Congress briefly declared the suspension of Vizcarra’s presidency and the appointment of Mercedes Aráoz as interim president, a move that quickly collapsed when Aráoz resigned the next day.

Early parliamentary elections were held in Peru on 26 January 2020. The elections were called after President Martín Vizcarra constitutionally dissolved the Congress of the Republic on 30 September 2019.

All 130 congressmen corresponding to the 26 electoral districts were elected to serve the remainder of the 2016–2021 congressional period. It was the seventh parliamentary election under the 1993 Constitution, which created the current Congress of the Republic.

The removal of Martín Vizcarra, president of Peru, was initiated by the Congress of Peru on 8 October 2020 under the grounds of "permanent moral incapacity". On 20 October 2020, political factions Union for Peru, Podemos Perú, and Broad Front co-signed a series of articles of impeachment against President Vizcarra for alleged cases of corruption during his term as the governor of Moquegua. Vizcarra was removed from office on 9 November 2020 in a 105–16 vote.

Initially, the vote to start impeachment proceedings was scheduled for 31 October, but it was later extended to the first week of November. Finally it was decided that the vote and debate would be held on 2 November. When the date arrived, impeachment was initiated with 60 votes in favor, 40 against and 18 abstentions. Vizcarra attended the plenary session in Congress on 9 November to defend himself against the accusations.

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.

The 2020 Peruvian protests were a series of demonstrations sparked after the removal of President Martín Vizcarra that took place from 9 November to 17 November 2020.

The controversial removal of Vizcarra was recognized as a coup d'état by many Peruvians, political analysts and media outlets in the country. Protests were registered in several cities of the country, to show their outrage at the president's vacancy and reject the inauguration of the president of Congress, Manuel Merino. Upon taking office, Merino formed a far-right government.