Peruvian President Pedro Castillo dissolved the nation’s congress on Wednesday and called new legislative elections, beating lawmakers as they prepared to debate a third attempt to remove him from office.
Castillo also installed a new emergency government and called in a televised address for the next round of legislators to develop a new constitution for the Andean nation.
In the meantime, he said he would rule by decree and ordered a nightly curfew starting Wednesday night.
Castillo also announced that he will make changes in the direction of the judiciary, the police and the constitutional court.
PROTEST AGAINST POLLUTION IN PERU: 10 AMERICANS RELEASED ON TOURIST BOAT HELD HOSTAGE
FILE – Peruvian President Pedro Castillo holds a news conference at the presidential palace in Lima, Peru, October 11, 2022. On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, Castillo faces a third impeachment attempt by Congress. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)
(AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)
Castillo took action hours before Castillo’s opponents in Congress moved to a third vote to remove him from office, alleging that he has demonstrated a “permanent moral incapacity” to lead the Andean nation. It was not clear if they had the 87 votes among 130 lawmakers needed to remove him.
Castillo said in a rare midnight speech on state television before the vote that he would never tarnish “the good name of my honest and exemplary parents, who, like millions of Peruvians, work every day to honestly build a future for their families.”
The farmer-turned-president said he is paying for mistakes made due to inexperience. But he said that a certain sector of Congress “has the only item on the agenda to remove me from office because they never accepted the results of an election that you, my dear Peruvians, determined with your votes.”
Castillo, whose government began in July 2021, denied the accusations against him and said that they are based on “hearsay statements from people who, seeking to lighten their own punishments for alleged crimes by abusing my trust, try to involve me without evidence.” “
BIDEN’S GIFT FROM VENEZUELA FINANCES THE DICTATORSHIP AND HARMS ENERGY PRODUCERS AND CONSUMERS IN THE UNITED STATES
Lawmakers inside Congress on the day of the scheduled impeachment vote against President Pedro Castillo in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
(AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
Federal prosecutors are investigating six cases against Castillo, most for alleged corruption, on the theory that he has used his power to profit from public works.
The power struggle in Peru’s capital continues as the Andes and its thousands of small farms struggle to survive the worst drought in half a century. Without rain, farmers can’t grow potatoes and dying grass can no longer support herds of sheep, alpacas, vicuñas and llamas. To make matters worse, bird flu has killed at least 18,000 seabirds and infected at least one poultry farmer, endangering chickens and turkeys raised for traditional holiday meals.
The government also confirmed that in the last week, the country has suffered a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections. Since the start of the pandemic, 4.3 million Peruvians have been infected and 217,000 of them have died.
Castillo has three times the popularity of Congress, according to opinion polls. A poll conducted last month by the Institute of Peruvian Studies found 86% disapproval of Congress and just 10% approval. while Castillo’s negative ratings were 61% and 31% approve of his performance.
CUBAN STATE VISIT TO RUSSIA SHOWS IMPORTANCE OF HAVANA TO PUTIN’S ANTI-AMERICAN AGENDA
Lawmakers inside Congress on the day of the scheduled impeachment vote against President Pedro Castillo in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
(AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
There is a stark contrast in the South American country: while the majority in Lima disapproves of Castillo and wants him gone, Peruvians in other cities and rural communities in the interior want him to complete his presidential term and his promises. Many Peruvians want Congress to be closed.
But with few sure votes in Congress, Castillo has been unable to deliver on his promises, which include fighting corruption, raising taxes on mining, rewriting the constitution and going after alleged monopolies that have driven up the prices of natural gas and medicines.
Castillo, the first president from a poor farming community in the nation’s 200-year history, arrived at the presidential palace last year without any political experience. He has changed cabinets five times during his year and a half in office, moving through 60 different cabinet officials, crippling various government agencies.
Although Castillo is the first president to be investigated while still in office, the inquiries are not surprising in a country where nearly every former president in the last 40 years has been accused of corruption linked to multinational corporations, such as the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Since 2016, Peru has been mired in political crises, with congresses and presidents trying to eliminate each other. President Martín Vizcarra (2018-2020) dissolved Congress in 2019 and ordered new elections. That new legislature removed Vizcarra the following 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.
