It was the luxury watches that Dina Boluarte wore at various official events, starting when she was Minister of Development and Social Inclusion and Vice President, that are at the basis of the current political crisis in Peru. The president, who took office in 2022 after the dismissal of Pedro Castillo, has not yet explained the origin of the Rolexes and, on Saturday, both her home and office were searched. The Public Ministry suspects illicit enrichment, while Boluarte denounces harassment. But she is already the target of a motion of censure in Congress.
“The president was formally summoned to show the Rolex watches”, indicated the Peruvian prosecutor’s office, explaining that they were not found during the searches – despite proof of purchase of one of them being found last year. Boluarte was called to give a statement to the court next Friday. Her lawyer indicated that the police photographed, but did not take, about ten watches. “Among them, there were some good ones, but I can’t say if they were Rolexes,” Mateo Castañeda told radio station RPP.
The president criticized the searches, which took place in the early hours of Saturday and in which the police violently entered her home. “The early morning measure is arbitrary, disproportionate and abusive,” she stated, explaining that it has always been available to the authorities and that this case is affecting the country’s governance. “The president has been systematically attacked and, therefore, democracy and the State Government are attacked, generating political, social and economic instability”, she added.
Boluarte, on the advice of his lawyer, did not comment on the origin of the supposed 14 luxury watches (three of them alleged to be Rolex), which was revealed a few weeks ago on the online program La Encerrona. After the report, the 61-year-old president had said that the Rolexes were “old” and the result of her “effort”, having started working since she was 18. Before entering politics, she was an employee of the National Identification and Marital Status, having managed one of its offices.
The Rolex case is not just judicial, with the president’s former party – Peru Livre (Marxist) – presenting a motion of censure that could lead to her dismissal. The party announced that it had the 26 signatures needed to trigger the process, citing “permanent moral incapacity”, the excuse used in the past to remove other Peruvian presidents. They consider the case “serious”, as Boluarte did not declare the luxury watches to the authorities. This implies “the violation of the ethical and moral principles of someone who occupies the highest position in the country”, they claim, speaking in particular on the issue of transparency.
Boluarte refuses to resign and it is not certain that the motion of censure can pass in Congress. The president has the support of the four right-wing and extreme-right parties, despite at least one of them asking her to explain the origins of the watches. These parties have 47 deputies in Congress, far from the 65 majority, but so far the support of aligned independent congressmen has been sufficient for governability.
