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Third impeachment and removal of Pedro Castillo

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The third presidential vacancy (impeachment) process against President Pedro Castillo was an action initiated by the Congress of the Republic of Peru with the purpose of declaring the "permanent moral incapacity" of the President of the Republic, Pedro Castillo,[1] under Article 113 of the Political Constitution of Peru.[2][3]

Third impeachment and removal of Pedro Castillo
President Pedro Castillo swears in Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, days before impeachment
AccusedPedro Castillo, president of Peru
ProponentsCongress of Peru
Date29 November 2022 (2022-11-29) to 7 December 2022 (2022-12-07)
OutcomeVacancy approval
ChargesAdopted: "moral incapacity" under Article 113 § 2 of the Constitution of Peru

On November 8 and 17, according to the Government, Congress voted negatively on two motions of confidence presented that sought to modify the process of dissolving Parliament and calling a referendum without the need for an approving vote by Congress.[4] However, both measures were dismissed by the executive board of Congress because "Law 31399" contemplates two exclusive rights of the Legislative Power, such as the ratification in the first vote of constitutional reforms and the provision that allows the President of the Republic to carry out a referendum to approve them, so the issues of trust directly interfered with the powers of the Congress of the Republic and collided with article 206 of the Political Constitution of Peru.[5][6]

On 29 November 2022, the non-grouped congressman Edward Málaga presented the presidential vacancy motion for "moral ineptitude" with 67 signatures, which exceeded the necessary minimum number of 26 signatures.[7][8] The debate for the admission of the vacancy motion was held on 1 December.[9] When the date arrived, the motion was admitted to debate with 73 votes in favor, 32 against and six abstentions, with which the President of the Republic was summoned to the Plenary on 7 December 2022 to exercise his right to defense.[10] The vacancy required a qualified majority (two thirds of the legal number of congressmen, which corresponds to 87 votes in favor of 130); however, various voices considered that the votes were not guaranteed to approve the vacancy,[11][12][13] despite this, an unexpected event occurred hours before the session.

On the morning of the day on which the then president would exercise his right to defense, on 7 December 2022, he broadcast a message live to the nation in which he intended to carry out a self-coup.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Following this message, the Congress of the Republic brought the session forward and began the vote for the vacancy directly, under Article 46 ("nobody owes obedience to a usurping government"), due to the seriousness of the situation.[2] One hundred and one votes were reached in favor of the removal, for which the vacancy motion was approved,[20] ending the Castillo government.[10]

Constitutional framework

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Main articles: 2022 Peruvian self-coup attempt and 2017–present Peruvian political crisis

Due to broadly interpreted impeachment wording in the 1993 Constitution of Peru, the Congress can impeach the President of Peru without cause, effectively making the legislature more powerful than the executive branch.[21][22][23][24]

The current Constitution of 1993 establishes in its article 113 that the Presidency of the Republic is vacant due to:

  1. Death of the President of the Republic.
  2. His permanent moral or physical incapacity, declared by Congress.
  3. Acceptance of his resignation by Congress.
  4. Leaving the national territory without permission from Congress or not returning to it within the established period.
  5. Dismissal, after having been penalized for any of the offenses mentioned in article 117 of the Constitution.

In relation to the vacancy due to “permanent moral or physical incapacity”, until 2004 there was no procedure that clearly established the mode of application of the corresponding constitutional article, which is why Constitutional Court ruling No. 0006 -2003-AI/TC established as criteria that the removal of the president of the republic could only be approved with a qualified vote of at least two thirds of the legal number of congressmen, urging Congress to legislate on the matter in order to fill the up to then existing legal vacuum.[25][26]

In this way, it was established that the qualified vote necessary to be able to vacate the position of president of the republic must reach a minimum of 87 votes, which corresponds to two thirds of the legal number of congressmen, considering that in the Peruvian congress the legal number of its members number 130.

Although the Constitution is clear in indicating the "permanent moral or physical incapacity" as grounds for presidential vacancy, on the other hand the Constitution itself also states in its article 117 that the President of the Republic can only be accused, during his term, for treason; for preventing presidential, parliamentary, regional or municipal elections; for dissolving Congress, except in the cases provided for in article 134 of the Constitution, and for preventing its meeting or operation, or those of the National Election Jury and other electoral system bodies. This article was invoked by President Kuczynski's lawyer during his defense argument before Congress when facing the first vacancy request in 2017.[27][28]

Background

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Obstructionist Congress

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The election will be flipped, dear friends.

—Keiko Fujimori[29]

During the presidencies of Ollanta Humala, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Martín Vizcarra, the right-wing Congress led by Popular Force, the party of the daughter of the former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori, Keiko Fujimori, opposed many of the actions performed by the presidents.[30][31] The political legacy of the Fujimori family was assumed by Keiko after her father Alberto, who instituted Plan Verde and oversaw the Grupo Colina death squad during the internal conflict in Peru, was sentenced to prison for human rights abuses.[32][33][31][34] Congress had already attempted to remove Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for "moral incapacity", though he resigned, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, President Vizcarra was controversially removed from office, with thousands of citizens then gathered in protests against Vizcarra's impeachment.[35]

Following reports of Castillo's apparent victory in the 2021 Peruvian general election, Fujimori and her supporters made unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud, leading obstructionist efforts to overturn the election with support of wealthy citizens of Lima.[36][37][29][38][39][40] Many business groups and politicians refused to recognize Castillo's ascent to the presidency,[41] with those among the more affluent, including former military officers and wealthy families, demanded new elections, promoted calls for a military coup, and utilized rhetoric to support their allegations of fraud.[42] The Guardian also reported that analysts and political observers criticized Fujimori's remarks, noting that it made her appear desperate after losing her third presidential run in a ten-year period.[43]

The newly-elected congress dominated by the opposition right-wing parties, were opposed to Castillo,[44] whom they attempted to impeach multiple times using political avenues. In November 2021, four months into Castillo's term, Fujimori announced that her party was pushing forward impeachment proceedings, arguing that Castillo was "morally unfit for office".[45] The impeachment proceeding did not occur, as 76 voted against proceedings, 46 were in favor, and 4 abstained, with the requirement of 52 favoring proceedings not met.[46] In February 2022, it was reported that Fujimorists and politicians close to Fujimori organized a meeting at the Casa Andina hotel in Lima with the assistance of the German liberal group Friedrich Naumann Foundation, with those present including President of Congress Maricarmen Alva, at which plans to remove Castillo from office were discussed.[47] Alva had already shared her readiness to assume the presidency if Castillo were to be vacated from the position and a leaked Telegram group chat of the board of directors of Congress that she heads revealed plans coordinated to oust Castillo.[48][49] A second impeachment attempt related to corruption allegations did make it to proceedings in March 2022.[50] On 28 March 2022, Castillo appeared before Congress calling the allegations baseless and for legislators to "vote for democracy" and "against instability", with 55 voting for impeachment, 54 voting against, and 19 abstaining, thus failing to reach the 87 votes necessary.[50][51]

Other proceedings

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On 8 November 2022, Prime Minister Aníbal Torres asked Congress to vote on a matter of confidence to reform Law 31355, which would modify the parliamentary procedure to dissolve congress and call congressional elections. Congress shelved the Executive's request for reform, for which on November 11 Castillo warned: “We have declared before Parliament a prerogative of the Executive, as is the question of trust. Today we know the answer. I must announce that the Executive will also give an answer in the next few hours to the Peruvian people."[4]

On 17 November, Torres once again asked Congress to vote on another question of confidence to repeal another law, 31399, which was approved in January 2022 and which modified the referendum.[52] The Government opposed the rule, alleging that it prevented the participation of citizens directly. On November 24, the Board of Directors of Congress rejected the question of confidence.[5] The president of the Congress, José Williams, explained that the President of the Republic cannot attribute an interpretation contrary to that indicated by the Constitution and the regulations of Parliament, doing so would lead to an unconstitutional dissolution of Congress[53]. On the other hand, on 30 November the Constitutional Court declared unfounded the claim of unconstitutionality filed by the Executive Power against Law 31399.[4][54]

Despite the Government's interpretations of having considered that two questions of trust were allegedly denied, Congressmen and specialists in constitutional law declared that the constitution would be infringed.[55] Reforming a law is the exclusive competence of the Legislature and therefore, only Congress can interpret whether or not trust was denied.[6][55]

Initial justification of the vacancy motion

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The initial reasons for which the vacancy process was initiated, as specified in the document presented were:[7]

  • The takeover and dismantling of the State apparatus through the appointment of senior officials with serious questions, favoring the interests of the President and his associates to the detriment of citizen well-being, arguing that people seriously questioned because of their background, criminal records and ongoing investigations were appointed. It is pointed out that it is especially worrying that once they assume their posts - like former ministers Juan Silva and Geiner Alvarado - they are directly involved together with the President and his family in tax investigations for corruption. In addition, it is pointed out that within the presidential environment there were figures such as Guido Bellido and Aníbal Torres who fomented hatred and resentment among Peruvians, exacerbating their ethnic, social, and economic differences, and using the state apparatus to incite the population of various regions of the country.
  • The investigations for corruption in the closest environment of President Castillo, which powerfully suggest that the Head of State leads a criminal organization.
  • The direct manifestations of the President's immorality, such as academic plagiarism and personal cover-up.

Results

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Almost all political parties were in favor of the vacancy, with the exception of Free Peru and those related to the spectrum of the left —Democratic Change-Together for Peru, Perú Bicentenario and Democratic Peru— who voted against (6 of them) or abstention (10 of them).[56][57] In addition, congressmen Guillermo Bermejo, Kelly Portalatino and Betssy Chávez were absent from the session.[20] Resolution 001-2022-2023-CR was published in El Peruano.[58]

Pedro Castillo tried to seek political asylum at the Mexican embassy but was stopped by his own escort. The President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized the arrest of until then President Castillo, stating "What interests them are their privileges, and above all the privilege of commanding, and more in this case since they consider him from the mountains, they add racism to it, then they don't want it".[59]

Public opinion

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Days before the Castillo's self-coup attempt, a poll by the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP) showed that 55% of respondents disagreed with Congress' attempt to remove Castillo from office while 43% agreed.[60] The majority of those supporting Castillo's removal resided in Lima while those disagreeing with his impeachment lived in rural areas.[60] However, after the coup attempt a poll by Ipsos showed that 63% of respondents disagreed with the Castillo's decision while 33% agreed.[61]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Pedro Castillo: Congreso cita al presidente para el miércoles 7 por moción de vacancia". La República. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b GrupoRPP (2022-12-07). "José Williams, presidente del Congreso: "Nadie debe obediencia a un gobierno usurpador"". RPP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  3. ^ "Congreso de la República declara vacancia de Pedro Castillo y sucesión presidencial". Comunicaciones. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  4. ^ a b c "Ejecutivo presenta cuestión de confianza ante el Congreso". elperuano.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  5. ^ a b "Rechazan de plano cuestión de confianza planteada por el Poder Ejecutivo". Comunicaciones. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  6. ^ a b de 2022, 29 de Noviembre. "Cuestión de confianza y moción de vacancia, dos defensas a las que se aferran el Ejecutivo y Legislativo para no perder el poder". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b "Presentan tercera moción de vacancia contra Pedro Castillo". RPP Noticias. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  8. ^ Tamullipa, Gianella (2022-12-05). "Es cierto que la última moción de vacancia contra Pedro Castillo es la primera presentada con 67 firmas de congresistas". Ojo Público (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  9. ^ "Pedro Castillo: Congreso decidirá este jueves 1 de diciembre si admite a debate la moción de vacancia". El Comercio. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Congreso admite moción y debatirá vacancia presidencial el 7 de diciembre". El Comercio. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  11. ^ LR, Redacción (2022-12-02). "Luis Aragón considera que "no hay votos" necesarios para la tercera moción de vacancia contra Pedro Castillo". larepublica.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  12. ^ LR, Redacción (2022-12-07). "Tercer proceso de vacancia sin los votos asegurados en el Congreso". larepublica.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  13. ^ GOLPE TORPE DE PEDRO CASTILLO: ¿QUÉ PASÓ HOY? (in European Spanish), retrieved 2022-12-08
  14. ^ PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (2022-12-11). "Golpe a sí mismo: ¿Por qué Pedro Castillo intentó disolver el Congreso sin tener un plan? | Golpe de Estado | Vacancia presidencial | Dina Boluarte | Aníbal Torres | Betssy Chávez | POLITICA". El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  15. ^ 20minutos (2022-12-07). "Crisis en Perú: Pedro Castillo, golpe de estado, elecciones anticipadas, toque de queda oposición, discurso, reacciones, canciller, Gobierno". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Quesada, Juan Diego (2022-12-09). "En el interior del golpe de Estado en Perú: "Presidente, ¿qué ha hecho?"". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  17. ^ LR, Redacción (2022-12-07). "Pedro Castillo fue vacado tras anunciar disolución del Congreso". larepublica.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  18. ^ GrupoRPP (2022-12-07). "Golpe de Estado: Pedro Castillo anuncia disolución del Congreso e instaura un "gobierno de excepción"". RPP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  19. ^ "Golpe de Estado: Pedro Castillo anuncia disolución del Congreso y instaura un "gobierno de excepción"". EXITOSA NOTICIAS - NOTICIAS DEL PERU Y EL MUNDO (in Spanish). 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  20. ^ a b Mayurí, Alejandro. "Así votaron cada uno de los congresistas y bancadas políticas la vacancia contra Pedro Castillo". La Republica. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  21. ^ Asensio, Raúl; Camacho, Gabriela; González, Natalia; Grompone, Romeo; Pajuelo Teves, Ramón; Peña Jimenez, Omayra; Moscoso, Macarena; Vásquez, Yerel; Sosa Villagarcia, Paolo (August 2021). El Profe: Cómo Pedro Castillo se convirtió en presidente del Perú y qué pasará a continuación (in Spanish) (1 ed.). Lima, Peru: Institute of Peruvian Studies. p. 92. ISBN 978-612-326-084-2. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  22. ^ Taj, Mitra (2021-12-07). "'Too many mistakes': Peru's president threatened with impeachment after shaky start". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  23. ^ "Peru's Keiko Fujimori backs long-shot effort to impeach President Castillo". Reuters. 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  24. ^ Tegel, Simeon (15 October 2021). "Can Pedro Castillo Save His Presidency?". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  25. ^ tc.gob.pe. "Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional N° 0006-2003-AI/TC". Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  26. ^ García Chávarri Abraham. "La incapacidad moral como causal de vacancia presidencial en el sistema constitucional peruano". Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  27. ^ GrupoRPP (2022-02-01). "Luciano López: Modificar artículo 117 no es lo más adecuado, pero Pedro Castillo "nos empuja a esa situación"". RPP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  28. ^ Rodríguez, Rafael. "Perú 2022: ¿Es posible acusar constitucionalmente o vacar al Presidente de la República por la presunta Comisión de Delitos de Corrupción?". Diario Constitucional (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  29. ^ a b "Peru: Fujimori cries electoral fraud – and unleashes torrent of racism". The Guardian. 20 June 2021. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  30. ^ Flannery, Nathaniel Parish. "Political Risk Analysis: How Will Peru's Economy Perform In 2017?". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  31. ^ a b "The Political Limits of Presidential Impeachment: Lessons from Latin America". German Institute for Global and Area Studies. 2021. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  32. ^ "Passado familiar pauta a campanha da conservadora Keiko Fujimori, no Peru – Internacional – R7". 9 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  33. ^ Back, Michele; Zavala, Virginia (2018). Racialization and Language: Interdisciplinary Perspectives From Perú. Routledge. pp. 286–291. Retrieved 4 August 2021. At the end of the 1980s, a group of military elites secretly developed an analysis of Peruvian society called El cuaderno verde. This analysis established the policies that the following government would have to carry out in order to defeat Shining Path and rescue the Peruvian economy from the deep crisis in which it found itself. El cuaderno verde was passed onto the national press in 1993, after some of these policies were enacted by President Fujimori. ... It was a program that resulted in the forced sterilization of Quechua-speaking women belonging to rural Andean communities. This is an example of 'ethnic cleansing' justified by the state, which claimed that a properly controlled birth rate would improve the distribution of national resources and thus reduce poverty levels. ... The Peruvian state decided to control the bodies of 'culturally backward' women, since they were considered a source of poverty and the seeds of subversive groups
  34. ^ "Peru's Fujimori sentenced to 25 years prison". Reuters. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  35. ^ "In Midst Of Pandemic Crisis, Peru's Legislature Impeaches The Nation's President". NPR. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  36. ^ Asensio et al. 2021, pp. 69–71.
  37. ^ "Claves del supuesto "fraude sistemático" denunciado por Keiko Fujimori". Swissinfo (in Spanish). 8 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  38. ^ Collyns, Dan (8 June 2021). "Peru elections: Fujimori's fraud claims criticised as rival's narrow lead widens". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  39. ^ "With election fraud claims, Peru's Keiko Fujimori takes a page from the Trump playbook. She's not alone". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  40. ^ Applebaum, Anne (17 June 2021). "Democracy Is Surprisingly Easy to Undermine". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  41. ^ Asensio et al. 2021, pp. 27–71.
  42. ^ "Claves del supuesto "fraude sistemático" denunciado por Keiko Fujimori". Swissinfo (in Spanish). 8 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  43. ^ Collyns, Dan (8 June 2021). "Peru elections: Fujimori's fraud claims criticised as rival's narrow lead widens". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  44. ^ Benigno, Scott (7 December 2022). "Peruvian Congress to Debate President's Impeachment". Foreign Brief. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  45. ^ "Peru's Keiko Fujimori backs long-shot effort to impeach President Castillo". Reuters. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  46. ^ "Congreso no admite a debate moción de vacancia contra Pedro Castillo". La Republica (in Spanish). 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  47. ^ "Fujimoristas detrás de encuentro sobre la vacancia". La Republica (in Spanish). 14 February 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  48. ^ "Alva sobre eventual asunción a la presidencia: 'Uno tiene que estar preparado para todo'". La Republica (in Spanish). 6 February 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  49. ^ "Congreso: miembros de la oposición sostuvieron reunión para vacar al presidente Pedro Castillo". La Republica (in Spanish). 11 February 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  50. ^ a b "Peru's president avoids impeachment after marathon debate". Al Jazeera. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  51. ^ "Pleno del Congreso no aprueba moción de vacancia presidencial contra Pedro Castillo". RPP (in Spanish). 28 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  52. ^ GrupoRPP (2022-11-17). "Pedro Castillo: "Invoco al Congreso a aprobar la cuestión de confianza para restablecer la democracia ciudadana"". RPP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  53. ^ de 2022, 25 de Noviembre. "José Williams responde a Pedro Castillo y advierte que puede producirse "una disolución inconstitucional del Congreso"". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  54. ^ "TC DECLARA INFUNDADA LA DEMANDA DE INCONSTITUCIONALIDAD CONTRA LA LEY 31399, LEY QUE REGULA EL REFERÉNDUM | TC" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  55. ^ a b PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (2022-11-25). "Pedro Castillo interpreta que se negó primera cuestión de confianza | Aníbal Torres | Congreso | POLITICA". El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  56. ^ "¿Cómo votaron los aliados de Pedro Castillo respecto a la vacancia presidencial? - Caretas Política". Caretas (in Spanish). 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  57. ^ "Estos son los seis congresistas que votaron en contra de la vacancia de Pedro Castillo". infobae (in European Spanish). 7 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  58. ^ "Congreso oficializó resolución de vacancia presidencial [texto completo]". andina.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  59. ^ "AMLO llamó racistas a congresistas peruanos antes de que negaran viaje de Pedro Castillo a México". Infobae (in Spanish).
  60. ^ a b "El 55 % de peruanos rechaza la moción para destituir al presidente Castillo". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  61. ^ "Report of results: opinion survey for America TV, 2023 december 16 (p. 11)" (PDF). ipsos (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-05-29.
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