Pedro Castillo announces the dissolution of the Peruvian Congress and calls for elections

The Peruvian President Pedro Castillosurprisingly announced this Wednesday the temporary dissolution of Congress, when there were a few hours left before he faced a third impeachment attempt promoted by opposition legislators.

The leftist leader who assumed power in July 2021 said that an “exception government” would be established, while calling for legislative elections, while during the “interregnum” for the closure of Congress he assured that the current law would be respected. economic model of the country.

Three decades ago, the former president Alberto Fujimoricurrently in prison for human rights abuses and corruption, also ordered the dissolution of Congress.

It was not yet clear, given the conflicting versions of the president and the opposition, whether the president was empowered by law to order the closure of Congress.

“In response to the citizen demand throughout the country, we made the decision to establish an emergency government aimed at restoring the rule of law and democracy,” Castillo said in a speech.

Castillo had been summoned to the unicameral Congress at 3:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. GMT) to respond to accusations of “permanent moral incapacity” to govern, in the midst of several fiscal investigations of alleged corruption.

Several opposition legislators considered Castillo’s decision a “coup” and called for the armed forces to “restore constitutional order.”

After Castillo’s decision, the Ministers of Economy and Foreign Relations announced their resignation on Twitter.

“In strict adherence to my convictions and democratic and constitutional values, I have decided to irrevocably resign from the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, given President Castillo’s decision to close Congress (…) violating the Constitution,” said the now former Foreign Minister César Landa.