Peru's Leftist President Survives Second Attempt to Impeach Him
-
Loading... - Sara Wright
- 29 Mar 2022
- 372 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
Peru’s leftist president survived the second attempt to impeach him in four months, sparing the politically volatile nation another crisis -- at least, for now.
Fifty-five of 128 lawmakers voted on Monday night for impeaching President Pedro Castillo, short of the 87 needed. Fifty-four voted against, while 19 abstained.
Opposition lawmakers had sought to oust the president for “permanent moral incapacity,” a term in the constitution under which heads of state can be ejected on a variety of pretexts.
Castillo, 52, a rural school teacher, emerged from obscurity last year to unexpectedly win the presidency for the socialist Peru Libre party. His slogan was “No more poor people in a rich country.” But lacking any experience in public office, or a majority in congress, and with rapidly evaporating public support, his administration reeled from one crisis to the next.
He’s had four prime ministers and replaced numerous other top officials. He has caused whiplash over policy plans, including whether to close mines or nationalize natural resources in a country heavily reliant on mining. Peru is the world’s second biggest producer of copper.
It is also true that the Peruvian business elite and conservatives in congress regarded him with contempt and have worked to undermine him. His victory last year by the narrowest of margins -- tens of thousands of votes in a nation of 33 million -- led some of his opponents to reject the legitimacy of the election.
Continual friction between the government and congress has made Peru one of the world’s most politically volatile nations in recent years. Peru’s previous elected president, Martin Vizcarra, was also impeached, and his predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned when he was facing his second impeachment vote.
Treason Accusation
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed concern about the repeated use of impeachment, which it said in a statement this month has “contributed to Peru’s governance problems.”
Castillo may not yet be out of the woods. Parallel to the impeachment bid, some opposition lawmakers are pursuing another process accusing him of treason for saying he favors giving landlocked neighbor Bolivia access to the Pacific Ocean. If successful, the president could be separated from his functions in May. He is currently trying to block the process via the constitutional court.
“The country has already been experiencing great instability and uncertainty,” said Alexandra Ames, a political analyst at Universidad del Pacifico in Lima. “People don’t know what’s going to happen, businessmen put investment decisions on hold and wait for things to calm down, but there doesn’t seem to be calm on the horizon.” Read More…
