Pedro Castillo He woke up on Wednesday as the constitutional president of Peru and at noon decided to become an authoritarian ruler and tried to carry out a coup, but ended the day being arrested for attempted rebellion against the State and sharing prison with another former coup president: Alberto Fujimori.
This December 7 was not a day like any other for Castillo: the Peruvian Congress had convened a special session to debate and vote on a motion for his vacancy (removal) for “permanent moral incapacity”.
The initiative had been presented by the opposition and if approved, it would have forced him to leave office just a week after the Organization of American States (OAS) asked the parties for a truce.
Added to Castillo’s parliamentary weakness, without a sufficient majority in a Congress controlled by the right, were the six investigations against him carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office, a record for a president with just 15 months in office.
What did Pedro Castillo do during the 17 months of government and what did Congress accuse him of, which removed him from the presidential post?
When on October 12 the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office constitutionally denounced the president for corruption, Castillo gathered foreign correspondents to denounce that “the execution of a new type of coup d’état in Peru” had begun.
The president felt like a victim of “persecution”, but he assured that he was willing to “give up his life” for the people.
Perhaps that is why on Wednesday he decided to turn the situation 180 degrees and at noon, dressed in a blue suit with the presidential sash crossed over it, he addressed the country through a message broadcast on national radio and television channels.
A trembling Pedro Castillo announced in a message read from the Government Palace the closure of Parliament and the formation of an emergency government, along with the reorganization of the judicial system and the establishment of a curfew throughout the country.
The scene was reminiscent of another similar one that occurred 30 years ago, when then-President Alberto Fujimori announced in a message to the nation the dissolution of Congress and the taking under his control of all the powers of the State.
No military or police support
But while on April 5, 1992, the tanks surrounded the main institutional buildings and the military arrested opposition leaders, on this occasion the Armed Forces and the National Police turned their backs on President Castillo.
In a joint statement issued after Castillo’s message, the military and police stressed that “any act contrary to the established constitutional order constitutes a violation of the Constitution and generates non-compliance by the Peruvian Armed Forces and National Police.” From that moment on, the fate of Pedro Castillo as president of Peru was cast.
Photo: Aldair Mejía
His unexpected, solitary and politically suicidal decision accelerated the pace of events: two hours after the failed self-coup attempt, the Congress of the Republic decided by 101 votes in favor (out of a total of 130 seats) his dismissal as head of state.
And in less than an hour, Castillo already had a replacement: his fellow candidate, Dina Boluarte, was sworn in as President of the Republic, called for a political truce and promised his support for the investigations of the Prosecutor’s Office and the fight against corruption.
Photo: STR
Mexico ready for asylum
In the meantime, Castillo was stopped by his own escort when, after leaving the Presidential Palace, he was heading towards the Embassy of Mexico. The Minister of Foreign Relations of that country, Marcelo Ebrard, had said shortly before that they would offer him “asylum” if he requested it, but he pointed out that until then Castillo had not requested it.
The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had commissioned his foreign minister to keep him informed “at all times” of the evolution of the crisis in Peru.
Days ago, AMLO, a staunch supporter of Castillo, had expressed solidarity with him when in Lima Congress denied him permission to attend the Pacific Alliance summit (made up of Chile, Peru, Mexico and Colombia) that was to be held in the Mexican capital from November 24 to 26.
The opposition legislators argued that he could take advantage of this exit to flee the country and avoid the action of Justice.
Photo: Administration of Justice Office
Stripped of the presidential sash and dressed in casual clothing, Pedro Castillo remained for eight hours in the Prefecture of Lima with police surveillance, while the Prosecutor’s Office carried out proceedings in the Presidential Palace, the headquarters of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and various ministries.
To the accusations that until Wednesday weighed against Castillo, the Public Ministry has now added the alleged commission of the “crime of rebellion, regulated in article 346 of the Penal Code, for violating the constitutional order”, and the “alleged commission of crimes against the Powers of the State and the Constitutional Order, in the form of conspiracy”.
After his arrest in the Lima Prefecture, Castillo was taken in the middle of a large police deployment to a barracks in the Lima district of Rímac, from where he was transferred by helicopter to the Barbadillo prison, in the Ate district.
Castillo was taken handcuffed to that prison, located at the headquarters of the Special Operations Directorate of the Police, where former President Alberto Fujimori is also being held, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for qualified homicide, usurpation of functions, corruption and espionage, diversion of funds and embezzlement.
Thirty years later, the execution of a self-coup unites both former presidents. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
