CNN –
Political turmoil swept Peru on Wednesday, with the country’s Congress voting to impeach President Pedro Castillo just hours after he tried to dissolve the legislature and install an emergency government.
The day began with Castillo giving a televised speech from the Presidential Palace, where he announced plans for early parliamentary elections to work on a new constitution, prompting a series of cabinet resignations and widespread criticism.
The president, who has survived two impeachment attempts, also declared a national curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET) until 4:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
However, Congress appeared defiant, beginning its session Wednesday with lawmakers singing the national anthem. Later, a majority of 101 lawmakers in the 130-person congress voted to impeach Castillo.
Vice-president Dina Boluarte would be next, according to the country’s constitution.
Before the vote, Francisco Morales, president of Peru’s Constitutional Court, called Castillo’s action a “coup d’état” in a televised press conference and urged Boluarte to assume the presidency.
Boluarte also criticized Castillo before the vote. “I reject Pedro Castillo’s decision to perpetrate the breakdown of the constitutional order by closing Congress,” Boluarte wrote on Twitter. “It is a coup that aggravates the political and institutional crisis that Peruvian society will have to overcome with strict compliance with the law.”
At least seven cabinet ministers resigned, including Environment Minister Wilbert Rozas, Finance Minister Kurt Burneo, Foreign Affairs Minister Cesar Landa and Justice Minister Felix Chero.
The leftist leader’s government has been mired in chaos since inauguration, with dozens of ministers appointed, replaced, sacked or resigned in just over a year, increasing pressure on the former president.
Castillo, a former teacher and union leader, criticized the opposition for trying to impeach him from the first day he took office and accused Peru’s attorney general, Patricia Benavides, of orchestrating what he called a new form of “coup d’état”. ” against him.
In October, Benavides filed a constitutional complaint against him based on three of the six investigations his office had opened. The impeachment allows Congress to conduct its own investigation into the president.
A motion presented by the opposition last week called for the removal of the president for “moral incapacity” under Article 113 of Peru’s Constitution.
Elected in July 2021 by a narrow margin in a runoff, Castillo has faced a cascade of investigations into whether he used his position to benefit himself, his family and his closest allies through influence peddling to obtain favor or preferential treatment, among other claims.
Castillo has repeatedly denied all allegations and reiterated his willingness to cooperate with any investigation. He argues that the allegations are the result of a witch hunt against him and his family by groups that did not accept his election victory.
The president faces five preliminary criminal investigations into allegations of attempted corruption schemes while in office. These include prosecutors’ allegation that he led a “criminal network” that interfered with public institutions such as the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Housing and Peru’s state oil company to control public tender processes and benefit specific companies and close allies.
Prosecutors are also investigating whether the president led efforts to influence the promotion process for officers in both the armed forces and the national police.
Beyond the president himself, these investigations also look into Castillo’s family, including his wife and sister-in-law. First lady Lilia Paredes is under investigation for alleged coordination of the criminal network. Her lawyer, Benji Espinoza, has stressed her innocence and argues that the investigation against the first lady includes “a number of flaws and omissions.”
And his sister-in-law Yenifer Paredes is under investigation for alleged part of a criminal organization, money laundering and aggravated collusion. She was detained until a judge revoked her 30-month “preventive detention”. She has also denied any wrongdoing.
“My daughter, my wife, my whole family have been attacked with the sole purpose of destroying me because they don’t want me to finish my term, I promise you I will finish my term, I am not corrupt,” he said. during a televised speech from the Presidential Palace on October 20.
In the same speech, Castillo admitted that some of his closest allies should face justice on corruption charges, saying: “If they betrayed my trust, let justice deal with them “.
This is breaking news and will be updated.