Peru: "You Can't Fire Me!"

PERU

You Can’t Fire Me

Peru President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned Wednesday on the eve of an impeachment vote, ending months of political turmoil.

Kuczynski is expected to be replaced by Vice President Martin Vizcarra on Friday, Reuters reported.

The outgoing president denied any wrongdoing and blamed the opposition for tarnishing his reputation. Elected two years ago on promises to boost the economy and root out corruption, Kuczynski himself fell victim to corruption allegations, the latest of which included audio and video recordings that appeared to show Kuczynski’s allies offering government contracts to lawmakers in exchange for political support, the agency said.

“I’ve worked for nearly 60 years of my life with complete honesty. The opposition has tried to depict me as a corrupt person,” Kuczynski said in a pre-recorded video message to the nation.

In December, Kuczynski had narrowly averted impeachment over allegations that his company received money from Brazil’s Odebrecht construction firm, which has been at the center of various corruption cases around the region.