Status: 08.12.2022 09:03 am
His attempt to dissolve Congress brought down Peru’s head of state, Castillo. After his deposition, he was arrested and accused of rebellion. After him, for the first time, a woman becomes the head of state.
Deposed Peruvian President Pedro Castillo will face charges of rebellion. This was announced by the federal prosecutor of the country. Castillo was removed from power by Congress on Wednesday and subsequently arrested.
Castillo is now being charged with violating the constitutional order, prosecutors said. “Peru’s political constitution establishes the separation of powers and establishes that Peru is a democratic and sovereign republic,” the agency said in a written statement. “No authority can rise above the constitution,” he said, “constitutional mandates” must be adhered to.
Castillo himself sees his dismissal as a campaign by his political opponents.
Castillo wanted to dissolve Congress
The background to Castillo’s ouster was his goal of dissolving the Congress and leading Peru by decree and with an emergency government. At the Congress session, he announced the dissolution of the body, a new constitution for the country and reforms in the judiciary, the police and the Federal Constitutional Court. He also ordered a nationwide nighttime curfew.
But Castillo’s dissolution of Congress met with fierce opposition. The opposition condemned his actions as a coup d’état. “It’s illegal,” MP Martha Moyano of the right-wing party Fuerza Popular told radio station RPP. And MP and former admiral José Cueto wrote on Twitter: “What Pedro Castillo has done is a coup d’etat. The armed forces will support the constitution and not the dictator.”
Peru’s Supreme Court labeled Castillo’s attempt to dissolve Congress a coup. The national police and the general staff also emphasized that this step was unconstitutional. Several ministers from Castillo’s government resigned from their posts, as did the country’s army chief.
Dismissed for “moral inadequacy”
Congress called a vote to remove Castillo. As a result, a clear majority of 101 parliamentarians voted in favor of removing the 53-year-old from power because of “permanent moral inadequacy”. Only six MPs voted against the dismissal, ten of them abstained.
It was the third time since Castillo took office in July 2022 that his impeachment had been voted on. Several investigations are underway against him and his government, including allegations of corruption.
Peruvian MPs jubilantly pose for a photo after the vote in the impeachment trial against Castillo.
Image: AFP
First woman at the head of Peru
Only shortly after Castillo’s dismissal, the previous Vice President Dina Boluarte succeeded him and was sworn in as head of state. The 60-year-old lawyer is the first female president of the South American country. When she was sworn in, Boluarte also spoke of an attempted putsch and called for unity. “What I’m asking for is leeway and time to save the country,” she said.
Only shortly after Castillo’s ouster, Dina Boluarte succeeded him at the head of the government.
Image: REUTERS
Mexico considers asylum for Castillo
The political upheaval in Peru met with mixed reactions abroad. The US condemned the dissolution of the Peruvian Congress as a clear violation of the constitution. Mexico’s government, on the other hand, indicated that it might want to grant Castillo asylum.
The Organization of American States (OAS) supported the new President Boluarte. “Today the constitutional order was intervened in Peru. I assure Dina Boluarte of our support for democracy, peace and institutions in Peru and the urgent need to restore the democratic path in that country,” said OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro.
Peru: Congress ignores dissolution order – Castillo deposed
Anne Herrberg, ARD Rio de Janeiro, 12/7/2022 11:53 p.m