New political crisis for Pedro Castillo in Peru: the prime minister has resigned, the fourth in 15 months

The president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, sent a surprising message to the country at the stroke of midnight where he announced that he will renew his cabinet after accept the resignation of their prime ministerAníbal Torres, due to a new dispute with Congress.

“Having accepted the resignation of the Prime Minister, whom I thank for his work on behalf of the country, I will renovate the toilet“, Castillo said in his message broadcast from the Government House on state television.

Resignation occurs in the midst of a new one confrontation between the executive and the legislativecontrolled by the right bankers.

A few hours before the announcement of his resignation, the head of Congress, José Williams, announced that “the Board of Directors categorically rejects the question of confidence” raised by the outgoing prime minister a week ago.

The head of the legislature argued that the decision was taken without the need for the plenary to debate the government’s proposal “because it is prohibited subjects for the approach to said topic“, According to the law.

The government has resorted to the figure of a vote of confidence on an Executive bill in which it proposes to propose a referendum, without passing through the filter of Congress.

The resignation of Aníbal Torres

Torres, a 79-year-old lawyer who took office in February, had warned he would resign if Congress did not discuss the referendum bill.

Castillo wants to promote a referendum on the Constituent Assembly to amend the Magna Carta (1993) which promotes free markets and has made Peru one of the most open economies in the region, but also one with the greatest inequalities.

The renunciate is the fourth Chief of Staff to leave office since Castillo took office 16 months ago.

The Peruvian president is due to appoint a fifth cabinet in the coming days, at a time when he is facing six prosecution investigations into alleged corruption and collusion.

It is tradition in Peru that all ministers place their positions at the disposal of the president in the event of the resignation of the prime minister, who has the task of coordinating the members of the cabinet and managing the relations of the executive with the other branches of the state.

The new chief of staff must be ratified by Congress within a maximum period of 30 days from the day of his appointment by Castillo.

In the event that Congress denies a vote of confidence in the new cabinet, the government believes it is legally authorized to dissolve Congress according to the Constitution of Peru.

“The president said it in his message to the nation: that trust in the executive power has been denied and that is why the cabinet in crisis will renew the cabinet and according to that there will be a new premier or a new premier. He said it on Rpp radio, the minister of labour, Alejandro Salas, government spokesman.

This clarification opens the door to an interpretation given that Congress has said it has not denied confidence in Torres but rather Your request has been rejected as inadmissiblereason why it was not discussed in plenary.

Torres has accompanied Castillo since his candidacy for the presidency and was appointed Minister of Justice in the first ministerial cabinet of the government, a position he held until February.

In addition to the judicial siege, Castillo has faced two impeachment attempts by Congressand has a 66% disapproval rate according to polls.

This growing tension led Castillo to denounce an alleged coup in progress and ask for intervention by the Organization of American States (OAS), invoking the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

Specifically, an OAS mission visited Lima this week and met with authorities and opponents to take the pulse of the struggle between powers.

The new political crisis erupted on the same day that a congressional commission agreed to draft an indictment from the prosecutor’s office against Castillo, who is being investigated for alleged corruption and is asking to temporarily remove him from office.

Castillo, in power since July 2021, has already faced two impeachment attempts in Congress. He also claims he cannot be investigated until the end of his mandate in July 2026.

Photo: AFP