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Peru\u2019s president, Pedro Castillo, has been removed from office and detained on charges of \u201crebellion\u201d after he announced he would shutter congress and install a \u201cgovernment of exception\u201d \u2013 just hours before he was due to face an impeachment vote.<\/p>\n
The public prosecutor\u2019s office confirmed late on Wednesday that Castillo had been arrested and charged with allegedly \u201cbreaching constitutional order\u201d, after he was accused of an attempted coup and seen fleeing the presidential palace.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, the country\u2019s national police tweeted that \u201cformer president\u201d Castillo had been detained, shortly after congress voted to remove him.
\nThe vote came after Castillo ordered a night-time curfew and the reorganisation of the judiciary and prosecutor\u2019s office, which is investigating him for alleged corruption and influence trafficking \u2013 charges which he denies.<\/p>\n
Castillo\u2019s vice-president, Dina Boluarte, described the move as a coup attempt, and hours later was sworn in as the new president, becoming the first female head of state in Peru\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
Boluarte called for a political truce and the installation of a national unity government. \u201cWhat I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The day of high drama put an end to Castillo\u2019s tumultuous 17 months in power, which has already seen five cabinets, more than 80 ministers, six criminal investigations and two failed attempts to impeach him.<\/p>\n
In a televised speech, Castillo said he would temporarily shut down congress, launch a \u201cgovernment of exception\u201d to rule by decree and called for new legislative elections.
\nThe move immediately prompted mass resignations from the cabinet, and accusations that Castillo had attempted to seize power illegally.
\n\u201cI strongly condemn this coup d\u2019\u00e9tat and call on the international community to assist in the democratic re-establishment of democracy in Peru,\u201d tweeted the foreign minister, C\u00e9sar Landa, as he announced his resignation. \u201cCastillo took this decision without my knowledge or support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Castillo\u2019s attempt to avoid an impeachment vote swiftly turned into an own goal as the armed forces and the police withdrew their support, saying, in a joint statement, that Castillo\u2019s move was \u201ccontrary to the established constitutional order\u201d.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Peru\u2019s constitutional court called Castillo\u2019s decision to dissolve congress \u201ca coup\u201d and said the leader was no longer in charge of the country.<\/p>\n
Castillo\u2019s announcement prompted comparisons with the notorious \u201cautogolpe\u201d or self-coup of April 1992, in which then-president Alberto Fujimori dissolved congress and sent soldiers and tanks on to the streets of Lima.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has happened in Peru is a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat,\u201d said Fernando Tuesta, a political science professor at Lima\u2019s Pontifical Catholic University. \u201cNothing announced by former president Pedro Castillo is allowed by the constitution.\u201d
\nThe US embassy in Lima condemned Castillo\u2019s move. \u201cThe United States emphatically urges President Castillo to reverse his attempt to close Congress and allow democratic institutions in Peru to work according to the constitution,\u201d the embassy said in a tweet. \u201cWe encourage the Peruvian public to stay calm during this uncertain time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mexico\u2019s president, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, called for \u201cdemocratic stability for the benefit of the people\u201d. In a string of tweets, the leftist leader said that an atmosphere of \u201cconfrontation and hostility\u201d had led Castillo to take decisions that ultimately served his opponents, and led to his removal from office.<\/p>\n
Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organisation of American States, said the constitutional order had been disrupted in Peru and tweeted his \u201csupport for \u201cdemocracy, peace and institutionality in Peru and the urgent need to restore the democratic path in the country\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Congress rejoicing Castillo\u2019s fall, though most of the country has remained calm throughout the rapid succession of the day\u2019s events.<\/p>\n
Castillo became president winning by the narrowest of margins in June 2021, shaking up the country\u2019s entrenched class system.<\/p>\n
The former primary school teacher, farmer and union activist had no previous governing experience, and took office as an outsider, pledging to support poor Peruvians who had been left behind by the country\u2019s stellar economic growth since the beginning of the century.<\/p>\n
His win reflected massive disenchantment with the political elite after numerous corruption scandals.<\/p>\n
But the novice president made numerous blunders, appointing barely qualified ministers and accumulating allegations of corruption and influence trafficking linked to his family and allies, which were investigated by the public prosecutor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Peru\u2019s president, Pedro Castillo, has been removed from office and detained on charges of \u201crebellion\u201d after he announced he would shutter congress and install a \u201cgovernment of exception\u201d \u2013 just hours before he was due to face an impeachment vote. The public prosecutor\u2019s office confirmed late on Wednesday that Castillo had been arrested and charged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":183655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10221280388112155_325455220908133":"","twitter_917774835383787521_917774835383787521":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183654"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183654"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183656,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183654\/revisions\/183656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}