Dina Boluarte, a Latin American President, was inaugurated in May 2021, the first day after his impeachment
On Wednesday, Dina Boluarte was installed as the first female President in the nation after her predecessor was impeached and arrested for alleged rebellion.
The tumultuous day began when then-President Castillo announced plans to dissolve Congress and install an emergency government, ahead of a looming impeachment vote by lawmakers, which Peru’s Ombudsman described as an “attempted coup d’état.”
The impeachment of him in Congress failed because of the cabinet resignations, fiery reactions from top officials and condemnation from regional neighbors.
“We condemn the breach of the constitutional order,” Peru’s Attorney General, Patricia Benavides, said in a statement. The Political Constitution ofPeru guarantees separation of powers and establishes that the republic is a democratic one.
Castillo’s short time in office were very difficult to take. The former teacher and union leader was elected in July 2021. He was seen as part of a wave of new left-wing leaders in Latin America.
He ran on a platform promising to rewrite the constitution and increase wealth redistribution by granting states greater control over markets and natural resources, pledges that he has struggled to deliver amid rising inflation in Peru, his lack of political experience and strong conservative opposition in Congress.
The government of the leader of the left was in chaos since inauguration, with dozens of Ministers appointed, replaced, fired, and quit in little over a year.
Benavides vs. Castillo: The prosecution of alleged masterminding of public corruption and anti-corruption investigations in the country
In October, Benavides filed a constitutional complaint against Castillo because of three of the six investigations that her office had opened. The complaint allows Congress to investigate the former President.
Castillo denied all allegations and gave his consent to be involved in any investigation. He argues the allegations are a result of a witch-hunt against him and his family from groups that failed to accept his election victory.
The former President faces five preliminary criminal investigations on allegations of masterminding corruption schemes while in office. According to prosecutors he led a criminal network that interfered with the public institutions of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Housing in order to benefit certain companies and close allies.
Prosecutors are also investigating whether the former President led efforts to peddle influence in the process of promoting officers in both the armed forces and national police.
The sister-in- law of her husband is under investigation for being a part of a criminal organization. She was in custody until a judge revoked her “preventive detention” for 30 months. She denied any wrongdoing.
Castillo said during a speech from the Presidential Palace that he will finish his term because he was attacked with the only purpose of destroying him.
In the same speech, Castillo admitted some of his closest allies should face justice over allegations of corruption, saying, “If they betrayed my trust, let justice take care of them.”
She wouldn’t be able to govern if she didn’t gain cross party support, so she might not be able to clean up the political landscape.
Meanwhile, many Peruvians have been calling for a total reset. According to a poll by the Institute of Peruvian Studies, 60 percent of people favored early elections to refresh both the presidency and Congress.
From President to Prisoner the Rapid Descent of Perus-Pedro-Cillillo: What could have been learned from Castillo’s botched coup attempt?
LIMA, Peru — Perhaps the most telling detail of Pedro Castillo’s botched coup attempt this week was the fact that the high-stakes gamble may have been completely unnecessary.
The debate on corruption charges was scheduled for that afternoon. Many here don’t think Castillo would have been ousted if that debate had taken place.
The result is that lawmakers had already twice tried to impeach him but on each occasion failed to reach the required two-thirds supermajority. The scenario was likely to be duplicated based on the frantic vote counting on Wednesday morning.
But Castillo’s address to the nation, his hands visibly trembling as he clutched the sheet of paper on which his speech was written, changed the calculus.
That then followed a brief period of uncertainty over the now ex-president’s whereabouts, until it emerged that his SUV had become stuck in Lima’s frequently gridlocked traffic on its way to the Mexican Embassy, where Castillo had been planning to request asylum.
After spending his first night in the cells he appeared in court for the first time on Thursday, looking sad. The judges rejected his attorney’s habeas corpus request and ordered the ex-president be kept in preliminary detention for another week.
It’s not clear whether the 60-year-old lawyer has the skills to build a legislative alliance in the conservative Congress that could end the political turmoil of the past six years.
But Boluarte appears better qualified than Castillo — who faces half a dozen different corruption investigations, including one for allegedly falsifying his master’s thesis — and should at least get a honeymoon period of several months.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/09/1141855115/from-president-to-prisoner-the-rapid-descent-of-perus-pedro-castillo
The Case of the Castillo Era: a Democractic Victory in a Regime with the Highest Covid 19 Death Rate in the World
The other piece of good news for Peru is that despite being tested almost to its limits, the country’s democratic institutions have survived this latest assault.
There have been only small protests and violence in the streets and most citizens appear to understand that, although lawmakers’ motives in seeking to oust Castillo may have been, in part, self-serving, ultimately the president simply had to go.
Perhaps, just maybe, congress will find some common ground with the new administration in dealing with the many serious challenges faced by ordinary people in a society that has had the highest Covid 19 mortality in the world.