First modification:
This Tuesday, December 7, the Peruvian Congress decides whether to open an impeachment process against President Pedro Castillo, the fifth in five years. The motion was promoted by Patricia Chirinos, a right-wing deputy for the Avanza País party. Castillo’s inability to give explanations about his irregular meetings in a house in the Breña district, along with other politicians and businessmen, put his stay in the Government Palace in check.
The Peruvian Congress is evaluating whether to open an impeachment process against the current president, Pedro Castillo. The motion gained strength a few days ago, after Castillo could not argue his meetings outside the seat of Government.
If 52 of the 130 legislators vote in favor of the vacancy, the fifth process of this type will begin in a period of five years in the Andean country. In that case, the president and his lawyer would have between three and ten days to defend their case in a special session of Congress. If 87 votes are obtained on that occasion, Castillo will be removed from office.
The motion was promoted by Patricia Chirinos, a right-wing deputy for the Avanza País political party. The third vice president of Congress based her request on the “permanent moral incapacity” of the president.
Chirinos also clung to an alleged irregular financing of Peru Libre, a left-wing party with which the professor came to power, and in alleged influence trafficking committed by his environment. He also considered that Castillo has generated “economic instability” in the nation. Finally, he rejected the fact that the president has resumed diplomatic relations with Venezuela and Cuba.
Chirinos has the support of three parties from the right and the extreme right, which have come together to face the impeachment request: Avanza País, Renovación Popular and Fuerza Popular.
What was the trigger for the vacancy motion?
The publication of a series of videos broadcast by the Cuarto Poder program put Castillo’s permanence in the presidential seat in check. In the recordings, the president is seen entering a house in the Breña district of Lima, along with politicians of different kinds and businessmen who have emerged shortly afterwards. In Peru, the law indicates that the president must record all his presidential meetings, something that Castillo has ignored.
When asked about these meetings, the president said in a televised message that the visits to Breña’s house, the same one he frequented during the electoral campaign, “were of a personal nature.”
Consequently, several deputies from center-right parties (Popular Action, Alliance for Progress), who preferred to avoid the vacancy motion, changed their minds and joined the cause.
Following the request, Castillo called meetings in the Government Palace with the leaders of all the parliamentary political forces, who have made it clear that he must give explanations of what happened if he wants to continue ruling the country. However, there is still no concrete evidence that Castillo is involved in acts of corruption.
With EFE
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