Peru Pedro Castillo borders on 'impeachment' only four months after assuming the presidency
Latin America Peru: four governments in just six months
The government of
Pedro Castillo
has approved this Monday in an extraordinary session the constitutional reform project with which it
intends to launch a Constituent Assembly
in the midst of a
political, social and economic crisis, aggravated by the protests
caused by the rise in prices of fuel and food.
The ruling party wants Peruvians to decide in a referendum, to be held on
October 2
in parallel to the regional and municipal elections.
"The voice of the people is the voice of God"
, the vice president Dina Boularte has harangued.
The government initiative has been immediately sent to Congress, where it faces an almost impossible process: its approval in the Constitution Commission and in plenary session.
Most of the parliamentary groups have been against
a project that is the golden dream of
Vladimir Cerrón
, leader of Peru Libre (PL) and the main ally in Peru of the three Latin American dictatorships.
Both Cerrón and the closest radical leaders of PL have been touring the country for months to sell the benefits of establishing a new Magna Carta with little echo and only 50,000 signatures collected.
A new constitution that, furthermore, is not a claim from society beyond PL;
only 8% see it as a priority, according to Ipsos polling.
"It seems somewhat inconvenient to me at the moment, a constitutional reform must be the product of a much broader discussion
," ex-president
Francisco Sagasti
pondered , who is betting on bringing forward the presidential and parliamentary elections.
More than 60% of those surveyed think the same as the centrist leader.
Castillo himself has forgotten Cerrón's proposal for months in an attempt to distance himself from his extremist positions, but, finally, he has yielded to his pressure, knowing that he needs his parliamentary support in the event of a new vacancy process, the
Peruvian
impeachment
. .
The right-wing opposition values promoting the removal of the president
for permanent moral incapacity in the face of the situation of political collapse and the
corruption scandals
surrounding Castillo.
The smoke screen extended by the government is also hasty.
The project presented is confusing and appears to be unconstitutional, according to jurists and analysts, something that is the usual pattern of this administration.
Castillo's strategy is based on
incorporating a new article into the Constitution to establish a third mechanism for constitutional reform
, given that it needs the approval of 66 deputies and a subsequent referendum or the vote of 87 parliamentarians in two consecutive terms.
Between PL, Peru Democrático (official split) and Cambio Democrático only add 44 supports.
Beyond the attempt to take advantage of his constant confrontation with Parliament, Castillo is also trying with this new smokescreen to turn the page on the promise made to Cardinal Pedro Barreto to appoint a fifth independent cabinet without the political control of Cerrón.
Conforms to The Trust Project criteria
Know more
Peru
peter castle
Impeachment