Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020. Vizcarra previously served as Governor of the Department of Moquegua (2011–2014), First Vice President of Peru (2016–2018), Minister of Transport and Communications of Peru (2016–2017), and Ambassador of Peru to Canada (2017–2018), with the latter three during the presidency of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
In the 2016 general election, Vizcarra ran with the Peruvians for Change presidential ticket as Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's running mate candidate for first vice president, narrowly defeating Keiko Fujimori's Popular Force ticket. On 23 March 2018, Vizcarra was sworn into office as President of Peru following the resignation of President Kuczynski. Throughout his tenure, Vizcarra remained independent from political parties, promoted reforms against corruption in the legislative and judicial branches, and vowed to not run for president when his term would end in 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, Vizcarra instituted stay-at-home orders and issued relief funds, but existing inequality, overcrowding and a largely informal economy saw Peru being heavily affected by the pandemic. As a result, Peru's gross domestic product declined thirty percent, increasing political pressure on Vizcarra's government.
On 30 September 2019, following what he described as a "factual denial of confidence" against his government, Vizcarra dissolved the Peruvian Congress and issued a decree for legislative elections. This initiated the 2019 constitutional crisis in which Congress unsuccessfully attempted to remove him and resulted in the resignation of Second Vice President Mercedes Aráoz. The snap election for a new congress was held on 26 January 2020, with the legislature elected becoming opposition-led once again. In September 2020, Congress opened impeachment proceedings against Vizcarra on grounds of "moral incapacity", accusing him of influence peddling after audio recordings were released by an opposition legislator, but the process did not receive enough votes to remove him from office.
On 9 November 2020, the Peruvian Congress impeached Vizcarra a second time after declaring him "morally incompetent" and removed him from office. The President of Congress and opposition leader Manuel Merino succeeded Vizcarra as President of Peru the following day. Vizcarra's impeachment incited street protests, as an overwhelming majority of Peruvians and political analysts believed the impeachment was unsubstantiated, with several Peruvian media outlets labeling the impeachment a "coup". President Merino resigned after six days in office following the killings of two protesters by police.
On 16 April 2021, former President Vizcarra was banned from holding public office for 10 years after allegedly jumping the line to get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Vacunagate controversy, by an 86–0 vote in Congress.
On 26 November 2025, Vizcarra was sentenced to 14 years in prison for taking bribes from construction companies during his tenure as Governor of Moquegua.
Early life
Martin was born in Lima, to César Vizcarra Vargas, who was an American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) member, and Doris Cornejo, an elementary school teacher. Martin's father was the mayor of Moquegua and a member of the Constituent Assembly of 1978. His family was based in Moquegua, but moved to Lima due to a pulmonary complication that put Martin on the verge of death at his birth. Martin has stated that his father had a lasting impact on his life.
Education
Vizcarra studied at the IEP Juan XXIII and the GUE Simón Bolívar, in Moquegua. For university education, Vizcarra graduated from the National University of Engineering in Lima in 1984 while also earning a degree in Management Administration from ESAN Graduate School of Business.
Political career
Early political involvement
His political ambitions began in his home region of Moquegua, where he ran as an independent affiliated with the APRA party for the governorship in 2006, narrowly missing election. In 2008, Vizcarra led protests, known as "Moqueguazo", surrounding unequal mining payments to the community. He travelled to Lima to mediate the crisis, explaining the payment issue to the Peruvian Council of Ministers who agreed to make necessary changes to laws surrounding the issue. This event inspired Vizcarra's further political ambitions.
Governor of Moquegua In the 2010 regional elections, Vizcarra was elected as the Governor of Moquegua and served in that position from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2014. During his tenure, social indexes improved and he avoided corruption issues, an achievement The Washington Post described as "one of the rare examples" in Peru. He also played a major role in conciliating another mining conflict between the company Anglo American and residents concerning potential drinking water contamination by a proposed copper mine.
Vice-presidency (2016–2018)
Vizcarra was elected into the office of the First Vice President of Peru in 2016 general election, running beside Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of the Peruanos Por el Kambio party. Shortly after being elected, he was also tasked with serving as Minister of Transportation and Communications.
Minister of Transportation and Communications (2016–2017)
As Minister of Transportation and Communications, Vizcarra served for about one year. During a series of floods in late 2016 and early 2017 which devastated much of Peru, he was tasked with managing the crisis.
With allegations of bribery and bureaucracy plaguing the construction of the Chinchero International Airport in Cusco, Vizcarra cancelled many contracts until an investigation by the Comptroller's Office was completed. After facing complaints by political opponents and being summoned to provide hours of testimony surrounding the project, all while being tasked with providing reconstruction following the flooding that affected Peru, Vizcarra resigned his position as minister. Shortly after his resignation, the Comptroller General Edgar Alarcón recommended legal action against ten officials involved with the airport's construction.
Analysts stated that overall, Vizcarra's performance as minister was positive, but it was plagued by complications from the Fujimori family's political forces, known as Fujimoristas.
Ambassador to Canada (2017–2018)
After resigning from the previous ministry, he was appointed to be the Peruvian Ambassador to Canada, avoiding public attention. He only returned to Peru during the first impeachment proceedings against President Kuczynski, returning to Canada shortly thereafter.
Presidency (2018–2020)
Following the resignation of President Kuczynski, Vizcarra returned to Peru to assume the presidency on 23 March 2018, a day after his 55th birthday. Upon being sworn in, Vizcarra stated in regards to corruption, "we've had enough", promising to lead against such practices in the Andean nation.
Peruvian author and Nobel laureate in Literature Mario Vargas Llosa stated that Vizcarra's "credentials are pretty good" and that although other Peruvian politicians have faced political controversy, Vizcarra "has acted within the law". Vargas Llosa also noted that if Vizcarra's popularity were to increase enough, "then immediately in Congress, the Fujimoristas will forget their internal struggles and will probably make life difficult for him".
Climate change
On 17 April 2018, President Vizcarra signed the Law for Climate Change, allowing for more funding toward the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) to monitor and combat climate change by analyzing greenhouse gas emissions while also creating a framework of inter-ministerial cooperation regarding the climate.
The signing made Peru the first country in South America to have a climate law, with Vizcarra stating that climate change could no longer be ignored and that the Government of Peru had an obligation to work together to provide a better environment for future Peruvians.
Anti-corruption initiatives
2018 Peruvian constitutional referendum
Following multiple corruption scandals facing the Peruvian government, on 28 July 2018, President Vizcarra called for a nationwide referendum to prohibit private funding for political campaigns, ban the reelection of lawmakers and to create a second legislative chamber.
The Washington Post stated that "Vizcarra's decisive response to a graft scandal engulfing the highest tiers of the judiciary ... has some Peruvians talking of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore integrity to public life and revive citizens' waning faith in democracy". Leftist lawmaker Marisa Glave, who was once a critic of Vizcarra, praised the move saying he had "connected with the people in a society that is both fed up with corruption but also deeply apolitical. It has put the Fujimoristas in check". Transparency International also praised the move, stating that "This is a very important opportunity, one that is unlike previous opportunities because, in part, the president appears genuinely committed".
Following the temporary detention of Keiko Fujimori, legislators belonging to American Popular Revolutionary Alliance and the Fujimorista-led Popular Force introduced a bill the following day on 11 October 2018 to remove Vizcarra's referendum proposals and to modify the referendum with their own suggestions to the public.
On 9 December 2018, Peruvians ultimately accepted three of four of the proposals in the referendum, only rejecting the final proposal of creating a bicameral congress when Vizcarra withdrew his support when the Fujimorista-led congress manipulated the proposals contents which would have removed power from the presidency.
Dissolution of congress
In the Constitution of Peru, the executive branch can dissolve congress after a second vote of no-confidence. Under former president of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, the Congress of Peru made a no-confidence vote on 15 September 2017, resulting in the collapse of the Cabinet of Peru, the first vote of no-confidence during that current congressional body. Vizcarra enacted a constitutional process on 29 May 2019 that would create a motion of no confidence towards congress if they refused to cooperate with his proposed actions against corruption. For the next four months, congress delayed bills targeting corruption and postponed general elections proposed by Vizcarra.
Demanding reforms against corruption, Vizcarra called for a vote of no confidence on 27 September 2019, stating it was "clear the democracy of our nation is at risk". Vizcarra and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights criticized congress for blocking a proposal for general elections while it quickly approved nominations to the Constitutional Court of Peru without investigating the backgrounds on nominees. Vizcarra sought to reform the Constitutional Court nomination process and congress' approval or disapproval of his proposal was seen "as a sign of confidence in his administration".