Peruvian Congress rejects impeachment proceedings against President Castillo

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Peru’s Congress rejected a motion for impeachment against President Pedro Castillo for alleged “moral incapacity” to hold office by 55 votes to 54, with 19 abstentions, falling short of the required two-thirds majority.

The decision was made after a plenary session that lasted more than 10 hours and began with a presentation by Castillo in the Chamber, in which he asserted that there were no facts that “justify” the motion presented against him by part of the political opposition that was being discussed in Parliament.

Castillo appeared before the plenary of the legislature at the beginning of the proceedings to assure that there are no facts that “justify” the motion filed against him by part of the political opposition, which is being discussed in the country’s parliament.

The president recalled that he decided to appear before Congress to “show the utmost respect for the rule of law and its instruments of control” and that his fight “now is not about attachment to power, which is temporary” but “to serve the country.”

“When a citizen is accused of something, this fact must be properly presented in the norm,” he added, before saying that on that day “it will be shown” that all this “is not so.”

The motion contained 20 charges, including allegations of corruption, the appointment of controversial figures to ministries and high-level public posts, and an alleged lack of ability to serve as head of state.

During the debate, proponents of the motion, including Congressman Jorge Montoya of the far-right Renovación Popular party, said it was unlikely that the 87 votes needed for the motion to take effect would be reached.

After the vote confirming the decision, Montoya said they would “continue to work as usual and look to the future” and that the government “must take action” as this motion had been “a wake-up call” for the executive branch.

For his part, the spokesman for the ruling Peru Libre party, Waldemar Cerrón, said that the voice of Congress “today said no to vacancy because democracy must be defended.”

“The governability of our country is guaranteed,” he said.

With Monday’s decision by Congress, Castillo overcame in just eight months in office the second impeachment trial brought against him by the political opposition, after the first was never discussed.