Corruption in Peru has been pervasive and was recently brought to attention during the Odebrecht scandal, which involved Odebrecht paying politicians to receive contracts for public works projects.[101] BBC News wrote in 2019 that "Peru is perhaps where [Odebrecht] has caused the most severe crisis" and that "[t]he scandal has discredited virtually the entire political elite of the country, as all major parties and players have been implicated."[101] The Odebrecht scandal led to several incidents in Peruvian politics; the suicide of former president Alan García,[101] the order for the arrest of former president Alejandro Toledo[102] as well as the first impeachment process against Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and later his resignation from the presidency.[103] Two candidates in the 2021 elections, Keiko Fujimori and Julio Guzmán, were also under investigation regarding alleged bribes from Odebrecht during their earlier electoral campaigns.[104][105] Kuczynski's successor Martín Vizcarra reacted to the Odebrecht scandal with multiple anti-corruption initiatives,[106] although Vizcarra was controversially removed from office for his own alleged involvement in corruption and was replaced with President of Congress Manuel Merino.[107] Vizcarra's removal was very unfavorable with Peruvians and resulted with the 2020 Peruvian protests.[108] Merino would be president for only five days and would later be replaced by Francisco Sagasti following a vote from congress.[109]