Peru swears in centrist Sagasti as Congress president

Peru's political crisis appeared on the verge of resolution Monday as Congress cleared the way for an elder statesman and consensus candidate to become the country's third president in a week.

Francisco Sagasi of the centrist Purple Party was selected as the new president of Congress.

He was sworn as the president of Congress on Monday, along with the first, second and third vice presidents.

The 76-year-old engineer has not yet been sworn into office but as head of Congress becomes the nation's chief of state by default.

Peru currently has no president or vice president, making him next in line.

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