Dina Boluarte became Peru’s first female President after she was sworn in as the country’s new leader on Wednesday that followed a high political drama with the arrest of the previous president Pedro Castillo.
Former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo was arrested as he was accused of rebellion and thrown from office after which the lawmakers impeached him. He had made last-minute efforts to dissolve Congress to stay as president.
Before becoming Peru’s President, Dina Boluarte was the nation’s vice president. She became the sixth President in less than five years. She was sworn in hours after a majority of 101 of the 130-member Congress voted to remove him.
The Congressmen had already planned an impeachment trial against the then-President Castillo who, in the last attempt to save his seat, had made announcements to dissolve Congress and put in place an emergency government which was dubbed as an “attempted coup d’état.”
Castillo also demanded parliamentary elections for deciding on a new constitution. The move resulted in the resignations of many cabinet members with top officials turning red with fury and neighboring countries condemning the move. The move could not save him from impeachment and Congress ultimately called Vice President Dina Boluarte to take office.
After months of unrest that included two past attempts at impeachment, the 60-year-old new president called for a political ceasefire and announced the formation of a new cabinet that would include members of all major parties.
Condemnation of Castillo’s act
The armed forces of Peru dismissed Castillo’s attempt to ignore Congressmen, calling it an “infringement of the constitution.”The forces called Castillo’s act as “unconstitutional” and the police called the arrest an “intervention” by it to fulfill their duties.
Boluarte had also criticized Castillo’s dissolution plan and described it on Twitter as “a coup that aggravates the political and institutional crisis that Peruvian society will have to overcome with strict adherence to the law.” Other countries too condemned Castillo with US Ambassador in Peru Lisa Kenna saying on Twitter, to “reverse” the move and “allow Peru’s democratic institutions to function according to the Constitution.
The office of Peru’s Attorney General in a statement said, “Castillo had been arrested for the alleged crime of rebellion for violating the constitutional order.”
Attorney General Patricia Benavides said, “We condemn the breach of the constitutional order,” Peru’s Attorney General, Patricia Benavides, said in a statement. “The Political Constitution of Peru enshrines the separation of powers and establishes that Peru is a democratic and sovereign republic … No authority can place itself above the Constitution and must comply with its constitutional mandates.”
There were a few modest street protests. Numerous people in Lima waved Peruvian flags in celebration of Castillo’s defeat, while his supporters marched and engaged in street combat with law enforcement in other parts of the city and in Arequipa.
