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Caribbean-Latin America

Peru Arrests Communist President for Coup Attempt, Inaugurates Sixth President in as Many Years

2022-12-09

[Breitbart] Dina Boluarte became Peru’s sixth president since 2016 late on Wednesday following the impeachment and arrest of now-former President Pedro Castillo, a widely unpopular communist who had attempted to dissolve the nation’s Congress and invalidate the Constitution on the same day.

Castillo became president in July 2021 after a month-long vote counting and contesting process, allegedly defeating conservative rival Keiko Fujimori by about 0.5 percent of the vote. Fujimori – daughter of currently imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori – accused Castillo’s communist Free Peru party of extensive fraud, but her claims did not result in any changes to the election results.

Free Peru is a far-left political party whose political platform included praise for Russian communist Vladimir Lenin and longtime Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Castillo had attempted to distance himself from his own party’s platform during the campaign, a move that eventually proved unnecessary as three-time failed presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori’s unpopularity ultimately decided the election.

Keiko Fujimori’s Popular Force party retained control of Congress, however, and was on its third attempt to impeach Castillo on Wednesday when he attempted to dissolve the institution and impose a national curfew. Popular Force had, throughout the past year, received growing support from members of other parties, including Free Peru, in its bid to remove Castillo. Free Peru had, failing two impeachment bids, began supporting a measure to shorten presidential terms, as none of the past four presidents had completed a full term in office anyway.

This time, Castillo moved to dissolve Congress – effectively attempting to annul the results of the latest round of legislative elections – shortly before lawmakers had planned to vote on ousting him from office. The Peruvian Constitution allows Congress to very easily impeach and remove a president for almost no reason. Lawmakers can choose to remove a president if Congress agrees that he or she is suffering from “permanent moral incapacity,” a term the Constitution does not define. The Constitution also specifically identifies “dissolving Congress” as a valid reason for impeachment.

On Wednesday afternoon, prior to his third impeachment vote, Castillo issued a national address in which he announced that he had ordered Congress to no longer exist.

“[I issued an order] to dissolve temporarily the Congress of the Republic and install an emergency government,” Castillo announced, “to convene as soon as possible elections for a new Congress with constitutional faculties to draft a new constitution in a time spanning no more than nine months.”

Castillo also announced that he would dissolve the entire judiciary, effectively firing the nation’s judges, the attorney general, and all judiciary officials.

“From now on and until a new Congress of the Republic is installed,” Castillo announced, “governing will happen through executive orders”:

Posted by:Skidmark

#4 "We stand united to fight this!!!"
"Oops!"
*looks back at vacant ground*

"Hey, um guys?"

Posted by: Frank G 2022-12-09 20:38

#3 There is nothing as embarrassing as calling for a coup and discovering that you are much less popular than you understood yourself to be.

Posted by: Super Hose 2022-12-09 20:27

#2 ^ Love his stuff. Must reads.

Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-12-09 09:45

#1 For the chaos that is Peru one only needs to read the works of Mario Vargas LLosa, perhaps Latin America's finest modern novelist.

Posted by: Slavising Unineting5672 2022-12-09 09:43

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