The Peruvian Armed Forces, previously involved in coups d’état or a support base for authoritarian regimes, “learned their lesson” and were instrumental in thwarting Pedro Castillo’s coup attempt, by denying him support, analysts point out.
The military “chose to preserve the little institutionality and not cause more chaos”, commented the political scientist Alonso Cárdenas, recalling that they refused in 2020 to repress the protesters against the government of Manuel Merino.
This stance, highlighted Cárdenas, from the London School of Economists, contrasts with the times when the Peruvian military was involved in coups d’état and human rights violations.
“The military owes loyalty to the Constitution, not governments. It was the Constitution they swore to uphold. By analyzing the situation, they already knew what they had to do”, agreed Carlos Fernández Fontenoy, PhD in Political Science.
For Fernández Fontenoy, the Armed Forces had a constitutionalist role after the discredit they fell under Alberto Fujimori’s government (1990-2000), when they supported an authoritarian regime.
Last Wednesday, after Castillo announced the dissolution of Parliament and it responded by voting for his dismissal, which took effect, many eyes turned to the military as arbiters in the midst of the clash of powers. “Any act contrary to the established constitutional order constitutes a violation of the Constitution,” the military institutions stated.
– ‘Netflix Series’ –
The reading that there were no factors that legally justified the closure of Congress was shared by the Constitutional Court and by several political actors, including ministers who chose to resign.
Retired General Guillermo Bobbio, Castillo’s last defense minister, said that neither he nor the military were consulted by the president before his announcement. , he said in an interview with the newspaper “La República”.
However, hours before the announcement, then Defense Minister Daniel Barragán and Army Commander Walter Córdova resigned, fueling speculation that there might have been some kind of non-institutional contact.
In 1992, when Fujimori carried out a coup similar to the one attempted by Castillo, the Armed Forces were protagonists and put tanks in the streets to dissuade the demonstrators. With the fall of the Fujimori government, several military commanders ended up in prison and were prosecuted for various crimes.
The head of Congress, José Williams, highlighted the attitude of the Armed Forces: “I think they gave a valuable demonstration of institutionality and respected Article 169 of the Constitution, which says that neither the Armed Forces, nor the Police, are deliberative, and are subject to constitutional power,” he told RPP radio this Saturday. “When that unfortunate event (coup d’état) took place and a usurper entered, they understood that the Constitution had been violated.”
#Peruvian #Armed #Forces #decisive #thwarting #coup #attempt #ISTOÉ #DINHEIRO