Pedro Castillo’s attempt to dissolve the Congress of Peru and, subsequently, the removal of the now ex-president raised doubts about the legality of the processes this Wednesday (7).
In practice, the Legislature ignored the politician’s decrees and approved a vacancy motion, calling the vice president, Dina Boluarte, to assume the Presidency. With the failed coup attempt, Castillo left the government after 17 months of tumultuous management.
See questions and answers about the political crisis in Peru.
What triggered the crisis? Hours before the start of a session, this Wednesday, in which parliamentarians would vote for Pedro Castillo’s vacancy, the president tried to get ahead of himself and announced the dissolution of Congress and the calling of early elections. At the same time, he decreed a state of exception, with a curfew from 10 pm to 4 am, and the restructuring of the Judiciary.
The movement intensified the country’s political crisis, and parliamentarians accused an attempted coup. Afterwards, the Legislature ignored Castillo’s determinations and approved the vacancy motion – a kind of impeachment.
Did Castillo try to carry out a coup d’état? The politician’s order disrespected the Constitution and, therefore, can be interpreted as an attempted coup. The dissolution of Congress is a valid instrument in the country’s system, as long as Parliament has rejected at least two votes of confidence in the administration — which was not the case in Castillo’s government.
Last month, the first of them was put on the agenda by then-premier AnÃbal Torres, but the opposition refused to vote on it. When he called for a vote of confidence for the second time, parliamentarians maintained their refusal, and Torres resigned days later, without a solution to the dispute.
What is a vote confidence? It is a proposal that aims to verify whether the government has a minimum support from parliamentarians. In the event of a rejection, the constitution mandates that the entire cabinet resign, with the possibility for the government to call a second vote.
What is a vacancy motion? The measure is a kind of impeachment, even if it is a distinct legal figure. In December 2021 and in March of this year Castillo was the target of two other actions of the type, which ended up rejected in Parliament, without reaching the necessary votes.
Why did Castillo try to dissolve Congress? It is not clear what motivated the politician. The vacancy motion did not appear to pose a real threat to his tenure, as he has twice escaped such actions. The leader of the Perú Libre party, Wladimir Cerrón, for whom the president was elected but later resigned, said he was too hasty, as there were not enough votes to remove him.
Why did lawmakers try to remove Castillo? The vacancy motion was filed on the 29th by a group led by deputy Edward Málaga, accusing the president of moral incapacity to govern.
The day before, another congressman had already presented a motion that asked for Castillo’s removal for 12 months so that actions that run against him in court can be judged. The truth is that the president maintained, throughout his term, a deeply tense relationship with the Legislature, in a tug of war with the opposition —he had to form five cabinets during the period.
What weighs against the president? Castillo has six investigations against him by the Public Ministry, five of which are for alleged involvement in corruption schemes; the other investigates plagiarism in her master’s thesis. The leader became the first president to be investigated while in office – he pleads not guilty.
Castillo is accused of leading a criminal organization in his cabinet and of having dismissed his interior minister on July 20 with the aim of suspending an investigation against allies. The accusation is based on one of the two constitutional accusations against the populist that were analyzed in Congress – the other was for treason, based on the idea of ​​calling a plebiscite to ask the population if they would agree with the granting of access to the sea for Bolivia.
Possible involvement of family members of the former representative in illicit activities is also being investigated. One of the processes is investigating whether a former Minister of Transport, six parliamentarians, a former secretary general of the Presidency and two of Castillo’s nephews were part of an alleged criminal network led by him, which operated in the bidding of public works contracts.
Who assumes the Presidency of the Peru? Dina Boluarte, 60, who was vice president, becomes the first woman to preside over Peru. Despite having remained faithful to the now ex-president, she was one of the first leaders in the country to accuse him of “perpetrating a breach of the constitutional order” this Wednesday.
Boluarte graduated as a lawyer from the University of San MartÃn de Porres and specialized in administrative law and public management and constitutional law.
What will happen to Castillo? The politician was arrested after the dismissal. According to the newspaper La Republica, he intended to go to the Mexican embassy to request political asylum. The next steps are uncertain, but the Public Ministry of Peru has announced that it will take legal action after Castillo’s decrees, which ordered the dissolution of Congress.
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