The President of Peru still does not clarify the origin of three luxury watches

In Boluarte Zegarra, president of Perudid not clarify today, March 30, Holy SaturdayThe origin of three luxury watches for which the Prosecutor’s Office raided her home and the presidential palace in the early morning while preliminarily investigating her for the crimes of illicit enrichment and failure to testify to the detriment of the State.

In a message on public television, Dina Boluarte extended the mystery about how three Rolex watches that she already used in public events ended up on her right wrist. She said that her defense recommended that “she not yet make any public statements” until she testifies at the Public Ministry.

Likewise, the governor expressed that the Prosecutor’s Office acted in an “unconstitutional” manner, that “it has been systematically attacked,” and consequently, “political, social and economic instability” is generated. The president asked herself “since when does a sector of the press worry about what a president wears or does not wear… I hope and want to believe that it is not a sexist or discriminatory issue.”

✅Statement by President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra. 🎥⬇️ pic.twitter.com/hgjONRVZnf

— Presidency of Peru 🇵🇪 (@presidenciaperu) March 30, 2024

They request presidential dismissal

A group of left-wing legislators presented a motion to Congress to remove In Boluarte as President due to “permanent moral incapacity.” after they collected 26 signatures.

The process to remove a president of Peru is uncertain, 52 signatures are needed for the request to be admitted to debate and then 87 votes to remove him from office. In Boluarte He stated a week ago that he is not afraid of “vacancies.”

Businessmen: “disproportionate” raid

For their part, the parties Popular Force, Alliance for Progress y Popular Renewal, with legislators in Parliament, ruled out support for the impeachment request. The president of the most powerful business union, Alfonso Bustamantesaid that the raid by the Prosecutor’s Office was “disproportionate.”

The raid on the Attorney General’s Office began before midnight on Friday, March 29, 2024, when a police officer, with the help of a sledgehammer, broke the lock on the door of the President’s house in a neighborhood of Lima, after no one opened it. Today, Saturday, March 30, in the afternoon, the television stations showed a locksmith fixing the door.

In Peru, Dina Boluarte did not appear at a summons from the prosecutor’s office to testify before investigations for alleged illicit enrichment, so the authority classified her absence as rebellion, and issued a search warrant that the police executed at her home. pic.twitter.com/dD3CFinWPb

— Juan Becerra Acosta (@juanbaaq) March 30, 2024

In Peru, this is the first time that prosecutors have forcibly entered the home of a sitting President, in a country accustomed to the justice system ordering searches in the homes of former presidents or imprisoning former presidents investigated for corruption. Raids on the palace have happened before.

Dengue, extortion and next ministerial diligence

The raid was carried out to seize three Rolex luxury watches that In Boluarte used and that have become the new headache for her in the midst of national problems that include high cases of dengue and the advance of crime that extorts small businesses.

The presidential lawyer, Mateo Castaneda, told RPP radio that in the raid “about 10” “nice” watches were found in the Palace, where they were even searched under “the carpets.” He did not say how many of those watches are Rolex brands and added that police took photos of the luxury items. He assured that The President will testify to the Prosecutor’s Office on (Friday) April 5.

“Storm” and “political noise”

In an unusual interview in the early morning, while the raid on the palace was taking place, Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén He told RPP radio that the Prosecutor’s Office was generating “a storm where there is none” and was causing “a political noise that affects investments.”

He also stated, without providing evidence, that there is a “destabilizing intention” to hit the President directed by those who “manage organized crime” and who 14 months ago demanded her dismissal in protests that left 49 civilians dead in confrontations with security forces. security. The investigation against In Boluarte “Anywhere else, it would be nothing more than an anecdote,” he added.

“Rebellion”

The attorney general, Juan Villena said on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 that In Boluarte showed “a clear indicator of rebellion” in a written response to the defense of the president who sought to postpone the exhibition of the three Rolex watches for two weeks and Boluarte’s statements due to her “heavy schedule”. Both efforts were frustrated on Tuesday and Wednesday because the door was not opened in either the house or the presidential palace.

The attitude of In Boluarte contradicts his promises last week when, to avoid questions, he told the press that he was going to appear before prosecutors to tell “the truth.” At first he stated that at least one of the watches was “from yesteryear”, “the fruit” of his “effort” since he was 18 years old.

And In Boluarte is accused of illicit enrichment and failure to testify to the detriment of the State, she cannot be prosecuted until 2026, when her term will end. Officials are obliged to declare their assets to avoid cases of enrichment and Dina Boluarte’s statements do not record any Rolex.

The fuse of the mess and the investigation

The investigation into the use of the watches began in mid-March 2024, when the journalistic program “La Encerrona” stated that it reviewed thousands of official photos and highlighted among all of them a Rolex that in Peru is worth up to $14,000. Other programs then detected at least two more Rolexes.

Good morning! ⌚️⌚️⌚️Incredibly, yesterday Dina Boluarte debuted ANOTHER watch: number 15 in her collection. We show the others and explain the legal faults.

🔗Watch TODAY’s episode here: pic.twitter.com/Qj8TQ81ihC

— La Encerrona (@laencerronaperu) March 15, 2024

Good morning! ⌚️ EXCLUSIVE: Dina’s Rolex. One of the FOURTEEN watches that the president has worn can cost up to 14 thousand dollars. What is the origin of this luxurious collection?

🔗Watch TODAY’s episode here: pic.twitter.com/tWHfa0YoXM

— La Encerrona (@laencerronaperu) March 14, 2024

The political rise of Dina Boluarte

Today a 61-year-old lawyer, In Boluarte She was a modest identity registry official until her inauguration as vice president of the country on July 28, 2021, with then-president Pedro Castillo. She became his Minister of Social Inclusion with a salary of $8,136 per month.

When parliament dismissed Castillo on December 7, 2022, Dina Boluarte assumed the Presidency with a lower salary, $4,200. Shortly after she began exhibiting luxury watches.

Another search at Easter

Six presidents who governed Peru from 2001 to 2022 are plagued by corruption cases in different judicial phases and two of them are in prison while they are being investigated. The most tragic case was that of Alan Garcia (2006-2011), who committed suicide at home in 2019, shortly before the Police detained him for 10 days. That raid occurred on Friday, April 17, also during Holy Week.

According to the Ipsos firm, In Boluarte She has an unpopularity of 88% in March and only 9% support her.

Another front for Dina Boluarte

Rolex watches are not the only problems facing the President. In 2023, the Prosecutor’s Office reported her to Congress for aggravated homicide and serious injuries in relation to the 49 civilians who died in clashes with security forces during protests demanding her resignation.

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