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The fall into the abyss of Pedro Castillo, from rural teacher to detained former president

2022-12-08T16:03:58.464Z


It is a humiliating end to the brief time that the now former president of Peru Pedro Castillo was in office.


Pedro Castillo announces closure of the Peruvian Congress and calls for elections 2:16

(CNN) --

It's a humiliating end to Peru's now-former president Pedro Castillo's brief time in office.

Now, Dina Boluarte is from this Wednesday the first woman president of Peru, culminating a dramatic day in which her predecessor was arrested for the alleged crime of rebellion and dismissed by Congress, the same one that had announced to close hours before and install a government emergency, ahead of an impending impeachment vote by lawmakers, which Peru's Ombudsman described as an "attempted coup."

Boluarte, the country's former vice president, swept into the top job to become Peru's sixth president in less than five years.

Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo (C) is seen inside a police car as he leaves the Prefecture of Lima, where he was being held, in Lima on December 7, 2022. (Photo by RENATO PAJUELO/AFP via Getty Images)

He also called for parliamentary elections to work on a new Constitution.

Castillo's move sparked a series of cabinet resignations, fierce reactions from top officials and condemnation from regional neighbors, ultimately failing to prevent his impeachment in Congress.

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The Peruvian armed forces rejected Castillo's attempt to sideline lawmakers, calling it a "violation of the constitution."

And Boluarte herself criticized Castillo's dissolution plan, describing it on Twitter as "a blow that aggravates the political and institutional crisis that Peruvian society will have to overcome with strict adherence to the law."

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The tumultuous path of the political life of Pedro Castillo

The former teacher and union leader came out into the open to be narrowly elected in a July 2021 runoff, seen as part of a “pink tide” of new left-wing leaders in Latin America.

He ran on a platform that promised to rewrite the constitution and increase wealth redistribution by giving states greater control over markets and natural resources, promises he has struggled to keep amid Peru's soaring inflation, its lack of political experience and a strong conservative opposition in Congress.

The leftist leader's government had been in turmoil since he took office, with dozens of ministers appointed, replaced, fired or resigning in just over a year, adding to the pressure on him.

Castillo lashed out at the opposition for trying to remove him from the first day he was in office.

He accused the attorney general, Patricia Benavides, of orchestrating what he called a new form of "coup" against him through investigations of his office.

In October, Benavides filed a constitutional complaint against Castillo based on three of the six investigations his office had opened.

The complaint allows Congress to conduct its own investigation against the former president.

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A cascade of investigations

Castillo has faced a slew of investigations into whether he used his position to benefit himself, his family and his closest allies through influence peddling to obtain favors or preferential treatment, among other allegations.

Castillo has repeatedly denied all the allegations and reiterated his willingness to cooperate with any investigation.

He argues that the accusations are the result of a witch hunt against him and his family by groups that did not accept his electoral victory.

The former president faces five preliminary criminal investigations into accusations of masterminding corruption schemes while in office.

These include the accusation by prosecutors 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 bidding processes and benefit companies. specific and close allies.

Prosecutors are also investigating whether the former president led influence-peddling efforts in the process of promoting officers in both the armed forces and the national police.

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(Credit: CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images)

These investigations also investigate Castillo's family, including his wife and sister-in-law.

The former first lady Lilia Paredes is being investigated on suspicion of alleged coordination of the criminal network.

Her lawyer, Benji Espinoza, has stressed her innocence and argues that the investigation against the former first lady includes "a series of failures and omissions."

Castillo's sister-in-law, Yenifer Paredes, is being investigated for alleged membership in a criminal organization, money laundering and aggravated collusion.

She was in custody until a judge revoked her 30-month "pretrial detention."

She has also denied committing any wrongdoing.

"My daughter, my wife, my entire family have been attacked with the sole purpose of destroying me because they do not want my term to end, I promise that I will finish my term, I am not corrupt," Castillo 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 take care of them."

President Boluarte's image has also been tarnished by her own constitutional investigation by Congress, which was dismissed on December 5.

His ancestry may not necessarily alleviate Peru's embittered and toxic political landscape, as he would need to garner cross-party support in order to govern.

Meanwhile, many Peruvians have been calling for a full reset.

In September 2022, 60% of Peruvians said they supported early elections to refresh both the presidency and Congress, according to a survey by the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP).

-- CNN's Shasta Darlington, Michael Conte, Michael Hansler and Marlon Sorto contributed to this report.

Pedro Castillo

Source: cnnespanol

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