2022 Peruvian self-coup attempt
Attempt by President Pedro Castillo to dissolve the Congress of Peru / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On December 7, 2022, Pedro Castillo, the then-President of Peru, made an attempt to illegally dissolve the Congress amidst looming removal proceedings. This move included the immediate imposition of a curfew, an attempt to establish an emergency government, and a call for the formation of a constituent assembly.[1][2] Prior to this, Attorney General Patricia Benavides had accused Castillo of leading a criminal organization, a claim that contravened Article 117 of the Constitution of Peru.[3] She had urged the Congress to remove him from office, leading to the third removal attempt against Castillo.[4][5][6] Castillo defended his actions by arguing that the Congress, which had obstructed many of his policies,[7][8][9] was serving oligopolistic businesses and had colluded with the Constitutional Court to undermine the executive branch, thereby creating a "congressional dictatorship".[7] He also advocated for the immediate election of a constituent assembly,[7] a demand that had been echoed since the 2020 Peruvian protests.[10]
2022 Peruvian self-coup attempt | |||
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Part of the 2017–present Peruvian political crisis | |||
Date | 7 December 2022 | ||
Location | Lima, Peru | ||
Caused by |
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Resulted in | Presidential defeat
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Parties | |||
Lead figures | |||
However, Castillo's decision to illegally dissolve Congress led to a wave of resignations from his government including his own ministers. The Peruvian Armed Forces also declined to support his actions.[11][12] On the same day, Castillo was removed and ceased to be president after the Constitutional Court rejected his dissolution of Congress.[13][14][15] Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn in as the new president later that day.[16] In the aftermath of Castillo's removal, his self-coup supporters (a minority of the population) initiated nationwide protests demanding his release and Boluarte's resignation. The Boluarte government responded by declaring a national state of emergency on December 14, massacring protesters,[17] and suspending some constitutional protections for 30 days.[18][19] Castillo was subsequently placed in pre-trial detention for 18 months on charges of rebellion and conspiracy,[20][21] with an additional 36 months of detention for alleged corruption during his administration.[22][23]
In a controversial move, the Constitutional Court, whose members were elected by Congress in a questionable manner,[24][25] removed judicial oversight from Congress, effectively granting the legislative body absolute control over the government.[26][27][28] Castillo maintained that two contentious votes of confidence between his former Prime Minister Aníbal Torres and Congress provided a legal basis for dissolving the legislative body.[29] However, this claim was disputed by a Constitutional Court ruling, which stated that only Congress could interpret whether a motion of confidence had occurred, thereby consolidating more power in the hands of Congress.[30] This event was widely characterized as an attempted coup d'état by Peruvian politicians, the Constitutional Court, Peruvian media, and some international news organizations,[31] drawing comparisons to the autogolpe of Alberto Fujimori during the 1992 Peruvian self-coup d'état.[32][33][11]
Representatives of many foreign countries, including Spain,[34] United States,[35] Brazil,[36] Uruguay[37] and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States[35] rejected Castillo's actions and described them as an attempt to break the constitutional order. According to an Institute of Peruvian Studies [es] poll, 53% of respondents disagreed with his attempt to dissolve Congress, while 44% of participants agreed.[38] Supporters of Castillo said that a soft coup was perpetrated by Congress against him.[39][40] Some governments of Latin America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras and Mexico, responded to the crisis by refusing to recognize the Boluarte government and viewing Castillo as president.[41][42] Castillo has also continued to consider himself as the legal president of Peru.[43]