Pedro Castillo removed from office in Peru

Pedro Castillo removed from office in Peru

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On Wednesday 7 December, Pedro Castillo was removed from office as President of Peru. Dina Boluarte, his Vice-President, was sworn in as his successor.

Castillo had earlier declared a state of emergency and moved to dissolve Peru’s opposition-controlled Congress, just hours before it was due to vote on his impeachment for the third time since he took office in July 2021.

In his address, Castillo promised a new government “re-establishing the rule of law and democracy,” and a new constitution within nine months.

The prime minister Betssy Chávez and several cabinet members resigned shortly afterwards, with condemnations arriving from within Peru and abroad. Many, including his Vice-President Boluarte and Peru’s constitutional court, described Castillo’s actions as a “coup.”

Following Castillo’s announcement, Congress held an emergency session in which it voted to impeach him by 101 votes to six, with 10 abstaining.

Within Latin America, words of support for Castillo arrived from the governments of Bolivia, Honduras and Mexico, the latter offering to provide him asylum on request. Others, including Chile and Argentina, and Brazil's president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called for the defence of constitutional order and democracy.

After his ousting, Mr Castillo was detained by police on charges of “breaching constitutional order.”

On her appointment President Boluarte said, “What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country.” She is Peru’s first female head of state, and its sixth president in five years.

This story covers a developing situation. Updated 08/12/22 10:57 GMT.