RIGHT WING CONGRESS
Protesters take to the streets in Lima after Peruvian president’s impeachmentHundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Peru's capital Lima on Wednesday after Congress approved the impeachment of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, who has been detained at the Lima Prefecture headquarters.
Demonstrators in Peru (Archive) - CARLOS GARCIA GRANTHON / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOT© Provided by News 360
With a strong police presence, dozens of demonstrators have gathered in front of the Congress on Abancay Avenue with Peruvian flags, banners and horns to celebrate the dismissal of Castillo in a march that was announced on Tuesday under the name "Toma de Lima" (Take over Lima).
Related video: Peru's President Impeached by Congress After He Announces Rule by Decree (Wibbitz - News) Duration 1:30 View on Watch
Peru Congress vote to oust President Castillo after shut-down threatMetro
Peru's president faces third impeachment attempt
Before Congress approved a motion of censure against him with 101 votes in favor, Castillo announced his dissolution, as well as the formation of a government of exception and a curfew from 10 p.m. (local time) until 4 a.m. to avoid altercations.
The Spanish Embassy in Peru has recommended Spanish citizens to avoid going near the areas where rallies are taking place in Peru and to limit travel "to the minimum necessary".
The Spanish Embassy in Peru has recommended Spanish citizens to avoid going near the areas where rallies are taking place in Peru and to limit travel "to the minimum necessary".
Latin American governments express concern over the political situation in Peru
Different Latin American governments have expressed their concern on Wednesday about the serious political crisis in Peru after the Congress dismissed President Pedro Castillo, who has been detained at the Lima Prefecture headquarters.
Archive - Pedro Castillo, Peru's ousted president - PRESIDENCIA DE PERÚ© Provided by News 360
"Argentina regrets and expresses its deep concern over the political crisis that the sister Republic of Peru is going through, and calls on all political and social actors to safeguard democratic institutions, the rule of law and constitutional order," the Argentine Foreign Ministry said in a message on its Twitter profile.
Related video: Peruvian President to reshuffle cabinet following resignation of PM (WION)
Duration 2:39
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In the same line, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry has expressed itself, which has also made an appeal on the aforementioned social network to political actors to maintain "the rule of law and democracy".
For its part, the Brazilian government has issued a statement in which it assures that it follows "with concern" the situation in the country and in which it stresses that the measures adopted by Castillo are "incompatible with the constitutional framework", and therefore represent "a violation of the validity of democracy and the rule of law".
The Chilean Government has also reacted, which through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sentenced in a communiqué that it trusts that the crisis affecting "a brother country" can be solved "through democratic mechanisms".
The Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, has previously pronounced and announced that the Pacific Alliance summit is suspended. "Mexico regrets the latest events in Peru," he said.
Mexico is willing to grant asylum to Pedro Castillo
Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday that his country is willing to grant asylum to the hitherto president of Peru, Pedro Castillo.
Archive - Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - Marco González/NOTIMEX/dpa© Provided by News 360
"If Pedro Castillo asks for asylum in Mexico, we will give it to him, but he has not requested it," Ebrard explained in an interview for the program Atando Cabos of the radio station Radio Fórmula.
The head of Mexican diplomacy in 2019 offered political asylum to former Bolivian President Evo Morales. The former Bolivian president had formally presented the request to the Mexican government days before after allegations of electoral fraud. Two days after his departure from the country, Jeanine Áñez proclaimed herself president.
Ebrard, moreover, has shown himself to be "very concerned". "I am very attentive to the situation. The president (of Mexico, Andrés Manuel) López Obrador has asked me to inform him at all times," he said in statements to the aforementioned radio station.
After learning of Castillo's dismissal, the Mexican Foreign Ministry announced that the Pacific Alliance Summit, which was scheduled for next Wednesday in the Peruvian capital, has been postponed.
Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday that his country is willing to grant asylum to the hitherto president of Peru, Pedro Castillo.
Archive - Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - Marco González/NOTIMEX/dpa© Provided by News 360
"If Pedro Castillo asks for asylum in Mexico, we will give it to him, but he has not requested it," Ebrard explained in an interview for the program Atando Cabos of the radio station Radio Fórmula.
The head of Mexican diplomacy in 2019 offered political asylum to former Bolivian President Evo Morales. The former Bolivian president had formally presented the request to the Mexican government days before after allegations of electoral fraud. Two days after his departure from the country, Jeanine Áñez proclaimed herself president.
Ebrard, moreover, has shown himself to be "very concerned". "I am very attentive to the situation. The president (of Mexico, Andrés Manuel) López Obrador has asked me to inform him at all times," he said in statements to the aforementioned radio station.
After learning of Castillo's dismissal, the Mexican Foreign Ministry announced that the Pacific Alliance Summit, which was scheduled for next Wednesday in the Peruvian capital, has been postponed.
Dina Boluarte sworn in as Peru’s new president, the first in the country’s history
Dina Boluarte was sworn in on Wednesday as the new president of Peru, thus becoming the first in the country's history, since as vice-president, as required by the Constitution, she had to take office following the dismissal of Pedro Castillo by Congress.
The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte. -
"I swear by God, by the homeland and by all Peruvians that I will faithfully exercise the office of President of the Republic, which I assume in accordance with the Constitution, from this moment until July 26, 2026", she said after receiving the presidential sash from the hands of the President of Congress, José Williams Zapata.
"I will defend national sovereignty, the physical and moral integrity of the republic and the independence of democratic institutions. I will comply with the Constitution and the laws of Peru, recognizing the freedom of worship and the moral formation of Peruvians", said Boluarte with his hand on the Bible.
"This difficult conjuncture puts all of us citizens on trial. Before being a politician, I am a citizen and a Peruvian mother who is fully aware of the responsibility that history places on my shoulders," she said later in her first speech as president of Peru.
"There has been an attempted coup d'état, an imprint promoted by Mr. Pedro Castillo, which has not found an echo in the institutions of democracy and the street. This Congress, in accordance with the constitutional mandate, has made a decision and it is my duty to act accordingly", she stressed.
In her first speech before Congress as president, Boluarte called for "the unity of all Peruvians", earning applause from the floor. "It is up to us to talk, to dialogue, to reach an agreement, something so simple, but so impracticable in recent months," she lamented.
"I call for a broad process of dialogue among all the political forces represented or not in Congress", said Boluarte, who asked for a "political truce to install a government of national unity" and "the support of the Public Prosecutor's Office to enter into the structures corrupted by the mafias".
Although during the last months Boluarte said that in case Castillo was dismissed by the Congress, she would go with him, the last actions of the already ex-president have made her change her mind and from the first moment she has been categorically against what she has defined as "a coup d'état".
Boluarte had combined her position as Vice President of Peru with that of Minister of Social Development until November of this year when Betssy Chávez was elected as the new Prime Minister.
Now she will have to deal with a Congress in which she does not have a bench and hardly any parliamentary allies to support her, after she recently left Peru Libre, and which for two decades has shown itself to be an ungovernable and hostile space towards all presidents.
Dina Boluarte was sworn in on Wednesday as the new president of Peru, thus becoming the first in the country's history, since as vice-president, as required by the Constitution, she had to take office following the dismissal of Pedro Castillo by Congress.
The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte. -
"I swear by God, by the homeland and by all Peruvians that I will faithfully exercise the office of President of the Republic, which I assume in accordance with the Constitution, from this moment until July 26, 2026", she said after receiving the presidential sash from the hands of the President of Congress, José Williams Zapata.
"I will defend national sovereignty, the physical and moral integrity of the republic and the independence of democratic institutions. I will comply with the Constitution and the laws of Peru, recognizing the freedom of worship and the moral formation of Peruvians", said Boluarte with his hand on the Bible.
"This difficult conjuncture puts all of us citizens on trial. Before being a politician, I am a citizen and a Peruvian mother who is fully aware of the responsibility that history places on my shoulders," she said later in her first speech as president of Peru.
"There has been an attempted coup d'état, an imprint promoted by Mr. Pedro Castillo, which has not found an echo in the institutions of democracy and the street. This Congress, in accordance with the constitutional mandate, has made a decision and it is my duty to act accordingly", she stressed.
In her first speech before Congress as president, Boluarte called for "the unity of all Peruvians", earning applause from the floor. "It is up to us to talk, to dialogue, to reach an agreement, something so simple, but so impracticable in recent months," she lamented.
"I call for a broad process of dialogue among all the political forces represented or not in Congress", said Boluarte, who asked for a "political truce to install a government of national unity" and "the support of the Public Prosecutor's Office to enter into the structures corrupted by the mafias".
Although during the last months Boluarte said that in case Castillo was dismissed by the Congress, she would go with him, the last actions of the already ex-president have made her change her mind and from the first moment she has been categorically against what she has defined as "a coup d'état".
Boluarte had combined her position as Vice President of Peru with that of Minister of Social Development until November of this year when Betssy Chávez was elected as the new Prime Minister.
Now she will have to deal with a Congress in which she does not have a bench and hardly any parliamentary allies to support her, after she recently left Peru Libre, and which for two decades has shown itself to be an ungovernable and hostile space towards all presidents.
Peru's president ousted by Congress in political crisis
Yesterday
LIMA, Peru (AP) — The president of Peru was ousted by Congress and arrested on a charge of rebellion Wednesday after he sought to dissolve the legislative body and take unilateral control of the government, triggering a grave constitutional crisis.
Peru's president ousted by Congress in political crisis© Provided by The Canadian Press
Vice President Dina Boluarte replaced Pedro Castillo and became the first female leader in the history of the republic after hours of wrangling between the legislature and the president, who had tried to prevent an impeachment vote.
Boluarte, a 60--year-old lawyer, called for a political truce and the installation of a national unity government.
“What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country,” she said.
Lawmakers voted 101-6 with 10 abstentions to remove Castillo from office for reasons of “permanent moral incapacity.”
He left the presidential palace in an automobile that carried him through Lima’s historic downtown. He entered a police station and hours later federal prosecutors announced that Castillo had been arrested on the rebellion charge for allegedly violating constitutional order. Witnesses saw some small-scale clashing between police and some protesters who had gathered near the station.
“We condemn the violation of constitutional order,” federal prosecutors said in a statement. “Peru's political constitution enshrines the separation of powers and establishes that Peru is a democratic and sovereign Republic ... No authority can put itself above the Constitution and must comply with constitutional mandates.”
Fluent in Spanish and Quechua, Boluarte was elected as vice president on the presidential ticket that brought Castillo to power July 28, 2021. During Castillo’s brief administration, Boluarte was minister of development and social inclusion.
Shortly before the impeachment vote, Castillo announced that he was installing a new emergency government and would rule by decree. He ordered a nightly curfew starting Wednesday night. The head of Peru's army then resigned, along with four ministers, including those over foreign affairs and the economy.
The Ombudsman's Office, an autonomous government institution, said before the congressional vote that Castillo should turn himself in to judicial authorities
After years of democracy, Peru is in the midst of a constitutional collapse “that can't be called anything but a coup,” the statement said.
International reaction was at times outpaced by events.
United States Amb. Lisa Kenna called on Castillo via Twitter to reverse his decree to dissolve Congress, saying the U.S. government rejected any “extra-constitutional” actions by the president to interfere with Congress.
A short time later the Congress voted to remove Castillo.
Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said via Twitter that given recent events in Peru, Mexico had decided to postpone the Pacific Alliance summit scheduled for Dec. 14 in Lima. He said he regretted the recent developments and called for democracy and human rights to be respected.
The administration of Chilean President Gabriel Boric lamented the political situation in Peru and trusted that the crisis would be resolved through democratic mechanisms. Spain's government strongly condemned the break in constitutional order and congratulated the country on righting itself democratically.
Castillo had said in an unusual midnight address on state television ahead of the vote that he would never stain “the good name of my honest and exemplary parents, who like millions of Peruvians, work every day to build honestly a future for their families.”
The peasant-turned-president said he’s paying for mistakes made due to inexperience. But he said a certain sector of Congress “has as its only agenda item removing me from office because they never accepted the results of an election that you, my dear Peruvians, determined with your votes.”
Castillo has denied allegations of corruption against him, saying they’re based on “hearsay statements by people who, seeking to lighten their own punishments for supposed crimes by abusing my confidence, are trying to involve me without evidence.”
Federal prosecutors are investigating six cases against Castillo, most of them for alleged corruption, under the theory that he had used his power to profit from public works.
The power struggle in Perú’s capital has continued as the Andes and its thousands of small farms struggle to survive the worst drought in a half-century. Without rain, farmers can’t plant potatoes, and the dying grass can no longer sustain herds of sheep, alpacas, vicuñas and llamas. Making matters worse, avian flu has killed at least 18,000 sea birds and infected at least one poultry producer, endangering the chicken and turkeys raised for traditional holiday meals.
The government also confirmed that in the past week, the country has suffered a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 4.3 million Peruvians have been infected, and 217,000 of them have died.
The first president to come from a poor farming community in the nation’s history, Castillo arrived in the presidential palace last year without any political experience. He changed his cabinet five times during his year and a half in office, running through 60 different cabinet officials, leaving various government agencies paralyzed.
Although Castillo is the first president to be investigated while still in office, the probes are no surprise in a country where nearly every former president in the last 40 years have been charged with corruption linked to multinational corporations, such as the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht.
Since 2016, Perú has been entrenched in political crises, with congresses and presidents trying to eliminate each other in turn. President Martín Vizcarra (2018-2020) dissolved Congress in 2019 and ordered new elections. That new legislature removed Vizcarra the next year. Then came President Manuel Merino, who lasted less than a week before a crackdown killed two protesters and injured 200 more. His successor, Francisco Sagasti, lasted nine months before Castillo took over.
Franklin Briceño, The Associated Press
Yesterday
LIMA, Peru (AP) — The president of Peru was ousted by Congress and arrested on a charge of rebellion Wednesday after he sought to dissolve the legislative body and take unilateral control of the government, triggering a grave constitutional crisis.
Peru's president ousted by Congress in political crisis© Provided by The Canadian Press
Vice President Dina Boluarte replaced Pedro Castillo and became the first female leader in the history of the republic after hours of wrangling between the legislature and the president, who had tried to prevent an impeachment vote.
Boluarte, a 60--year-old lawyer, called for a political truce and the installation of a national unity government.
“What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country,” she said.
Lawmakers voted 101-6 with 10 abstentions to remove Castillo from office for reasons of “permanent moral incapacity.”
He left the presidential palace in an automobile that carried him through Lima’s historic downtown. He entered a police station and hours later federal prosecutors announced that Castillo had been arrested on the rebellion charge for allegedly violating constitutional order. Witnesses saw some small-scale clashing between police and some protesters who had gathered near the station.
“We condemn the violation of constitutional order,” federal prosecutors said in a statement. “Peru's political constitution enshrines the separation of powers and establishes that Peru is a democratic and sovereign Republic ... No authority can put itself above the Constitution and must comply with constitutional mandates.”
Fluent in Spanish and Quechua, Boluarte was elected as vice president on the presidential ticket that brought Castillo to power July 28, 2021. During Castillo’s brief administration, Boluarte was minister of development and social inclusion.
Shortly before the impeachment vote, Castillo announced that he was installing a new emergency government and would rule by decree. He ordered a nightly curfew starting Wednesday night. The head of Peru's army then resigned, along with four ministers, including those over foreign affairs and the economy.
The Ombudsman's Office, an autonomous government institution, said before the congressional vote that Castillo should turn himself in to judicial authorities
After years of democracy, Peru is in the midst of a constitutional collapse “that can't be called anything but a coup,” the statement said.
International reaction was at times outpaced by events.
United States Amb. Lisa Kenna called on Castillo via Twitter to reverse his decree to dissolve Congress, saying the U.S. government rejected any “extra-constitutional” actions by the president to interfere with Congress.
A short time later the Congress voted to remove Castillo.
Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said via Twitter that given recent events in Peru, Mexico had decided to postpone the Pacific Alliance summit scheduled for Dec. 14 in Lima. He said he regretted the recent developments and called for democracy and human rights to be respected.
The administration of Chilean President Gabriel Boric lamented the political situation in Peru and trusted that the crisis would be resolved through democratic mechanisms. Spain's government strongly condemned the break in constitutional order and congratulated the country on righting itself democratically.
Castillo had said in an unusual midnight address on state television ahead of the vote that he would never stain “the good name of my honest and exemplary parents, who like millions of Peruvians, work every day to build honestly a future for their families.”
The peasant-turned-president said he’s paying for mistakes made due to inexperience. But he said a certain sector of Congress “has as its only agenda item removing me from office because they never accepted the results of an election that you, my dear Peruvians, determined with your votes.”
Castillo has denied allegations of corruption against him, saying they’re based on “hearsay statements by people who, seeking to lighten their own punishments for supposed crimes by abusing my confidence, are trying to involve me without evidence.”
Federal prosecutors are investigating six cases against Castillo, most of them for alleged corruption, under the theory that he had used his power to profit from public works.
The power struggle in Perú’s capital has continued as the Andes and its thousands of small farms struggle to survive the worst drought in a half-century. Without rain, farmers can’t plant potatoes, and the dying grass can no longer sustain herds of sheep, alpacas, vicuñas and llamas. Making matters worse, avian flu has killed at least 18,000 sea birds and infected at least one poultry producer, endangering the chicken and turkeys raised for traditional holiday meals.
The government also confirmed that in the past week, the country has suffered a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 4.3 million Peruvians have been infected, and 217,000 of them have died.
The first president to come from a poor farming community in the nation’s history, Castillo arrived in the presidential palace last year without any political experience. He changed his cabinet five times during his year and a half in office, running through 60 different cabinet officials, leaving various government agencies paralyzed.
Although Castillo is the first president to be investigated while still in office, the probes are no surprise in a country where nearly every former president in the last 40 years have been charged with corruption linked to multinational corporations, such as the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht.
Since 2016, Perú has been entrenched in political crises, with congresses and presidents trying to eliminate each other in turn. President Martín Vizcarra (2018-2020) dissolved Congress in 2019 and ordered new elections. That new legislature removed Vizcarra the next year. Then came President Manuel Merino, who lasted less than a week before a crackdown killed two protesters and injured 200 more. His successor, Francisco Sagasti, lasted nine months before Castillo took over.
Franklin Briceño, The Associated Press
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