LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru’s much-maligned political class has been plunged into fresh scandal after a photo emerged of a congresswoman having her toenails cut by an aide while reclining on the sofa in her office.

The image of Lucinda Vasquez, 67, from a minor left-wing party, being pampered while talking on her cellphone in parliament caused shock in a country reeling from an extortion epidemic.

It comes after weeks of youth-led protests against a political class seen as corrupt and ineffective that left one dead and more than a hundred injured.

The photo was taken on 6 November 2024, but was only published by an investigative TV show Sunday night on America Television channel and quickly went viral.

“It is a disgrace... that a person is being used, in an abuse of position and power, for matters that have nothing to do with their duties,” Elvis Vergara, president of the Congressional Ethics Committee, said on Wednesday. 

The congresswoman faces a temporary suspension. 

Vergara said the case would be reviewed next week by the ethics committee.

In a statement, Vasquez said the picture had been taken out of context and denied any attempt to “coerce and humiliate” her staffer.

She attributed the release of the photo to a revenge campaign by former staff members. 

The incident has compounded the anger of Peruvians over the failure of their leaders to end a wave of racketeering by criminal gangs that has terrorized the country.