Lima:
The South American country of Peru has been politically unstable for the past few years. In 2020, the country saw 3 presidents in 5 days.
In June of last year, Pedro Castillo, a leftist who started life as a school teacher, defeated the rightist Keiko to become president.
He has recently been accused of corruption. But he dismissed them as part of a conspiracy to remove him from office.
In this situation, the day before yesterday President Pedro Castillo appeared on the country’s television and spoke. He declared a state of emergency in the country. He also informed that Parliament will be dissolved.
Apart from that, he also announced that he would establish a unique government with the aim of restoring the rule of law and democracy in response to the demands of the people of the country. This caused a great uproar there. Many ministers resigned against this decision.
The country’s constitutional court accused him of launching a coup. The US urged him to reverse his decision. The MPs rejected the President’s decision.
But the country’s parliament, which is controlled by the opposition, hastily took ‘impeachment’ action against him. A resolution was passed to deprive him of his office. 101 votes were cast in favor of the resolution. There were 6 votes against. 10 people abstained from voting. The President lost his post as the majority of MPs voted in favor of ‘impeachment’.
He was arrested within minutes. He has been accused of sedition.
After the removal of the presidency, the female leader Tina Bolvarde, who had been the vice president, assumed the presidency.
He is a 60-year-old lawyer. He said that he will hold the office of President till 2026. That was when the term of previous President Pedro Castillo was coming to an end.
Speaking after assuming office, President Tina called for a political truce to tackle the crisis in the country. Then he asked, “What I am asking for is a place. Time should be given to save the country.”
Peru’s police department and armed forces issued a joint statement. In that statement, they said that they respect the order of the political system.
The successive twists and turns in Perunad have created a lot of excitement.