Like a veritable action hero, Peruvian interim President Jose Jeri rolls up his sleeves to take part in nighttime raids on prisons and in the street, always making sure his bravado is captured on camera.
Jeri — barred from seeking election next year due to a constitutional one-term limit — has made crime the focus of what would be a short presidency ending in July.
As the 39-year-old seeks to stabilize a government rocked by anti-crime protests and political turmoil that led to the ouster last month of his predecessor, Dina Boluarte, Jeri has opted for a tough approach to what many perceive to be the country’s biggest challenge: crime.
Photo: AFP
“We are in the streets, on the ground,” Jeri said during a recent operation, insisting that finally a government was “addressing the problem directly.”
Many Peruvians blamed Boluarte for a surge in graft and criminality, particularly extortion, giving rise to protests led by Gen Z demonstrators that left dozens injured and at least one dead.
The unrest triggered Boluarte’s impeachment, and Jeri was sworn in on Oct. 10 as president.
For some, his strategy seems to be working.
“Something has changed compared to the previous government, whose presence was barely noticeable and didn’t engage in dialogue with anyone,” said Carmen Zuniga, a 50-year-old manager of a community kitchen in Lima.
Jeri has drawn comparisons to El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele — who is criticized by rights groups for rounding up innocents in his war on crime even as he is praised by many at home for making life safer.
Throwing rights concerns out of the window, Jeri restricted family visits for inmates considered dangerous, and imposed a mobile blackout to prevent gangsters from using phones from prison to run their extortion schemes.
A Datum poll from February showed that 55 percent of Peruvians approve of Bukele’s iron-fisted approach.
More recently, an Ipsos poll found that 45 percent of respondents were in favor of Jeri’s actions, only slightly more than the 42 percent who were not.
Often dressed in jeans and a white collared shirt with rolled-up sleeves, Jeri has sought to cultivate an image as a man of action, posing for cameras along with law enforcement officials.
He set the tone from his very first speech, saying: “The main enemy is out there, in the streets. It’s the criminal gangs... and we must declare war on them.”
Just more than a week after he was sworn in, Jeri declared a 30-day state of emergency in Lima and Port of Callao, authorizing the army to patrol the streets and carry out arrests without warrants.
The results of Jeri’s approach are unclear, as he has yet to disclose any statistics.
“What I’ve seen are only populist measures... They are not effective as extortions and murders continue,” 20-year-old engineering student Jose Rodriguez said.
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