Peru’s new president tries to form government after Castillo’s overthrow

Uncertainty reigns in Peru this Thursday (8) on the first day of the presidency of Dina Boluarte, who sought a ceasefire from the opposition to overcome the institutional crisis following the impeachment and arrest of Pedro Castillo for a failed coup attempt. Request..

The 60-year-old lawyer, who will serve as vice president until Wednesday, will have to form his first cabinet of ministers in the next few hours, which will allow his government to keep its finger on the trajectory and take a look at the possibilities of surviving the political storm in Parliament. .

After a series of announcements that shook Peru’s institutions in a matter of hours, Boluarte was inaugurated as the country’s first female president and has made it clear that she wants to continue the remainder of her term until July 2026.

His initial decisions will be crucial as to whether he will achieve his goal or whether he will have to step back and go to early general elections.

In her first speech as head of state, Dina Boluarte called for “national unity” and urged parties to set aside ideologies; Right.

He then gave a nod to the Organization of American States (OAS): “I am making a very concrete request from national representation, I want a political ceasefire to form a government of national unity”.

On December 1, an OAS mission following the Peruvian political crisis requested a 100-day ceasefire between the Executive and the Legislature, but that did not happen.

real time crisis

Peru experienced hours of tension that culminated Wednesday when Castillo was charged red-handed with the crime of rioting and detained at night at a police base in eastern Lima.

Hours before Congress debated its third attempt to overthrow Castillo in 16 months, Castillo announced he was the target of “an all-out attack” by Parliament, dissolving Congress and imposing a curfew. He intended to rule by decree of the current ex-president.

But the Armed Forces and the police did not support him. Congress ignored his announcement and continued the impeachment process.

Since assuming the presidency in July 2021, Castillo has lived under pressure from Congress and the Public Department, which accuses him of running a so-called “criminal organization” that distributes public contracts for money.

The dismissal of the leftist, who had a 70 percent rejection rate in the latest polls, was accepted with 101 votes of 130 deputies.

After the impeachment, US State Department spokesman Ned Price described Castillo as a “former president” and thought Peruvian congressmen had taken “corrective measures” in accordance with democratic rules.

Countries in the region advocated respect for the rule of law and democracy in Peru.

a fragile presidency

Boluarte, who does not have his own chair in Congress, faces a situation of vulnerability between 2018 and 2020 very similar to that experienced by President Martín Vizcarra, who eventually lost his office.

“There is no lectern in Congress, all alone,” warned former president Ollanta Humala in an interview with Canal N on Wednesday.

Humala, who ran the country from 2011 to 2016, said: “He doesn’t have the tools to govern, he should call early elections, resign so that the president of Congress takes over and takes the elections forward.”

The former president has expressed doubts about the future of the Boluarte government.

“What is happening today is a ceasefire that will last a month or maybe more, but then the country’s big problems will arise,” he said.

Right-wing leader Keiko Fujimori said: “We hope the president appoints a broad-based, very good cabinet. We must all do our best to keep things going.”

The daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), her party, Força Popular, which is the main minority in Congress, said she would support the new president.

Dina Boluarte may have turned the enormous reputation of Congress, marked by corruption scandals, to her advantage. Parliament has an 86% rejection rate in recent polls.