FILE PHOTO: Peru’s President Pedro Castillo delivers a statement to the media along with Chile’s President Gabriel Boric at the La Moneda government palace in Santiago, Chile, November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
Paris, France — Peru has descended into protests since the country’s legislature last week threw out leftist president Pedro Castillo after he tried to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
Here is a timeline of the most recent upheaval in a country that has been buffeted by a wave of political crises over the past two decades.
Dec 7: bid to dissolve Congress
On December 7, Castillo, 53, in a televised address to the nation dissolves Congress and says he will form an emergency government, impose a night-time curfew and rule by decree.
His announcement comes just hours before parliament is to debate his impeachment.
It is the third impeachment attempt since the former rural school teacher unexpectedly won power from Peru’s traditional political elite in July 2021.
Peru’s Vice President Dina Boluarte denounces Castillo for an attempted “coup d’etat.”
Peru’s Vice President Dina Boluarte, who was called on by Congress to take the office of president after the legislature approved the removal of President Pedro Castillo in an impeachment trial, attends her swearing-in ceremony in Lima, Peru December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda
Dec 7: impeachment, successor installed
Lawmakers dismiss Castillo’s attempt to dissolve Congress, and they vote overwhelmingly to remove him from office for “moral incapacity” to exercise power.
He is transferred to a police facility in east Lima and arrested for “rebellion.”
Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer, takes the oath of office within two hours of the impeachment vote, becoming Peru’s first woman president.
She says she intends to serve out the rest of Castillo’s term, until July 2026.
Hundreds of protesters, some of whom support the former president and others who oppose him, take to Lima’s streets.
Dec 8: Supreme Court
The United States praises Peru for ensuring “democratic stability” and pledges to work with Boluarte.
Looking nervous and disheveled, Castillo appears before the Supreme Court via videoconference. The judge orders he is kept in preliminary detention for seven days.
Dec 10: demonstrations grow
Pro-Castillo protests grow, with demonstrators blocking roads and burning tires across the country.
Boluarte unveils a new cabinet, led by former prosecutor Pedro Angulo. The cabinet has an independent, technocratic profile and includes eight women out of 19 ministers.
Dec 11: two protesters killed
The protests turn deadly with two people killed and at least five injured in Andahuaylas in the south as demonstrators attempt to storm the city’s airport.
Police clash with demonstrators calling for a national strike, fresh elections and the release of Castillo.
The protests swell, notably in the northern and Andean towns.
Dec 12: early elections?
Boluarte announces that she will present a bill to Congress seeking to hold elections two years early. She also announces a state of emergency in some areas.