President of Peru in the morning, in prison in the evening: Pedro Castillo fell quickly. First parliament removed the president, then he was arrested. The accusations of the judiciary are: rebellion and violation of the constitution. The new president is called Dina Boluarte, she is the first woman to head Peru. Latin America expert Günther Maihold on the political situation in the Andean Republic.
SRF News: What exactly happened in Peru?
Günther Maihold: President Castillo was confronted with the prospect of being dismissed by Parliament. Castillo tried to forestall this with an actual putsch. He wanted to dissolve parliament and reform the judiciary. At the same time he wanted to convene a constituent assembly and hold new elections.
Castillo quickly realized that he lacked the support of the military. Parliament then decided in a hurry to dismiss him and elected the vice president as the new president. Castillo was still trying to make his way to the Mexican embassy. He was then taken to prison by his bodyguard.
Why was there an impeachment trial against Castillo at all?
Since taking office, his governance has been very chaotic. For one, Castillo has consumed over 30 ministers in less than a year. On the other hand, there were allegations of corruption. The public prosecutor’s office investigated Castillo. Parliament took this as an opportunity to initiate the impeachment procedure.
Before Castillo was deposed, he wanted to draw up a new constitution and thus “restore democracy in Peru”. That sounds like an empire.
You have to know one thing: the party system in Peru is extremely fragmented. There are 13 different factions in Parliament, and Castillo has never had a majority there either. In principle, political reforms are also being demanded by broad sections of the population. On the other hand, you can’t do it without Parliament.
Many people thought that with Castillo, a new candidate outside the old party aristocracy would come to power. However, he was unable to ensure constant governance.
This confrontation between the President and Parliament has become increasingly violent. Castillo was unable to forge consensus and create majorities. As a result, the situation escalated and there was this knee-jerk reaction: Castillo wanted to take full power.
Castillo described the impeachment as part of a conspiracy against him by the opposition. What is the truth of this claim?
The opposition demanded new approaches from Castillo. As a village teacher from the Andes, he entered the country’s political business as an outsider. In fact, he was unable to implement the opposition’s demands. There are also candidates within the opposition who believe they are more capable than Castillo. They sought new elections as soon as possible to improve their own position.
People took to the streets to protest for Castillo on Wednesday. How is Peru’s population reacting to the events?
With political exhaustion. Many thought that with Castillo, a new candidate outside the old party aristocracy would come to power. However, he was unable to ensure constant governance.
Now the country is probably heading for new elections again. Although no sufficiently clear political options can be developed from this. The polarization between the political forces repeatedly shattered the consensus.
The conversation was conducted by Susanne Stöckl.