Peru's Congress selects centrist lawmaker Francisco Sagasti to be new leader, third in a week

[sandensea]

Peru’s Congress chose a new leader Monday expected to become the nation’s third president in the span of a week, a hopeful sign that the political crisis is on the verge of resolution.

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of Francisco Sagasti, an engineer from the centrist Purple Party, as the legislature’s new president. By law, the head of Congress should become the country’s new interim president.

It will now fall on Sagasti to heal a nation bruised by a week of upheaval.

The 76-year-old hails from a political party that voted against the ouster of President Martín Vizcarra - an anti-corruption crusader highly popular among Peruvians, which is likely to quell protests.

The Latin American nation’s political turmoil took a chaotic turn Sunday when interim leader Manuel Merino quit after a mere five days in office and Congress couldn’t decide on his replacement.

At: https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-peru-president-20201116-potnfa2yrjafxk7dqv55vfj4ji-story.html

Peru's new President Francisco Sagasti, who was chosen by the nation's Congress after interim President Manuel Merino resigned after 5 days in office.

The centrist Sagasti is the fourth Peruvian president since 2018, and legislators hope his appointment will end a week of massive protests against what many see as a legislative coup against popular former President Martín Vizcarra.

The country's 33 million people await a ruling from the Constitutional Tribunal to determine the validity of Vizcarra's November 10th impeachment.

[Judi Lynn]

1. This original post made Sagasti sound as if he could be an interesting person, condemning the coup.

Had to make a trip to check his Wikipedia, and you could say he's had a very unusual life!

From Wikipedia:

Family and Education
Francisco Sagasti was born in Lima, Peru, son of Francisco Sagasti Miller and Elsa Hochhausler Reinisch. He is the grandson of the national hero Francisco Sagasti Saldaña, winner of Tarapacá. His mother's family emigrated from Austria and settled in Santiago de Chile.

He enrolled in the National University of Engineering, where he graduated with a degree in industrial engineering. He attained a Master's degree (MSc) in industrial engineering at Pennsylvania State University, and completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree in operational research and social systems science at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Sagasti married Costa Rican economist Silvia Charpentier Brenes, who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica for the National Liberation Party, and with whom he had a daughter. They separated in 2005.

Career
From 1972 to 1977 he was appointed as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Technological, Industrial Research and Technical Standards of Peru (ITINTEC). He was also an advisor to the Minister of Industry, Rear Admiral AP Alberto Jiménez de Lucio, during the revolutionary government of the Armed Forces, during which time as an advisor, he contributed to industrialization and technology matters. From the ministry, Sagasti also advised the National Research Council.

From 1978 to 1980 he was Advisor to the Vice President of the International Center for Research for Development of Canada in Bogotá.

From 1985 to 1987 he was Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Allan Wagner Tizón. He was also a member of the Advisory Council of the National Planning Institute.

From 1988 to 1989 he was Chairman of the United Nations Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development, a member of the Committee since 1984, and Vice-Chairman during 1986 and 1987.

From 1987 to 1990 he was Chief of the Strategic Planning Division of the World Bank.

Then, from 1990 to 1992, he was Senior Advisor to the Policy Evaluation and External Relations Departments at the World Bank, as well as a member of the special mission for Development Organizations of the Carnegie Commission for Science, Technology and Government.

From 2007 to 2009 he was President of the Board of Directors of the Science and Technology Program (FINCyT) in the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in the administrations of Jorge del Castillo and Yehude Simon Munaro. He was reappointed in the position between December 2011 and March 2013 under the management of Óscar Valdés Dancuart and Juan Jiménez Mayor

He has been a professor at the Universidad del Pacífico and at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú; Visiting Professor at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, at the Silberberg Chair at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. In 1982 he participated as a Fulbright Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, and Columbia Universities. He has been a Research Associate at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Sussex.

From 2009 to 2014 he was principal investigator of FORO Nacional / Internacional, an entity dedicated to promoting debate and consensus on critical issues for national and international development.

On 16 November, 2020, Sagasti was elected by the legislature to be the new President of Congress. Due to vacancies in the position of President and Vice President, he is slated to become the President of Peru by the line of succession.[6]

Kidnapping
In 1996 he was kidnapped by the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement during the Japanese embassy hostage crisis. Sagasti was released a few days later and returned to Costa Rica, where he lived with his family. Sagasti, upon being released, brought with him a cardboard with the signatures of members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, which, according to has stated in various interviews, he maintains as a "certificate of attendance".

Preparations for departure: The Arab tells me to bring my things; I feel half bad going to pick up my sack and my "hostage diploma," a piece of the cardboard box with bottles of Japanese Fuji mineral water.

Last moments: Serpa is standing next to the stairs, chatting with us and smiling. I take this opportunity to ask for your autograph on my "hostage diploma" which is titled the operation of the MRTA.

Serpa's dedication is: "For Mr. Sagastegui, With all Respect," and that of the Arab is: "For Mr. Sagasti, with the usual respect."

We went out to the garden of the residence. I raise my arm with my diploma in front of the cameras. I want to be sure that my wife, my children and my family see me. I called my family from the car on a borrowed cell phone to tell them that I had left the residence of the Japanese ambassador.

Only then did I realize that I was free.

More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Sagasti

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Thank you, sandensea!