Motion to impeach Pedro Castillo is rejected by Peru’s Congress

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Peru’s Congress, controlled by the right-wing opposition, rejected on Tuesday (7) to carry forward the impeachment of leftist president Pedro Castillo.

“The motion was not admitted,” declared Congress President María del Carmen Alva, after the request to take Castillo to a political trial obtained only 46 votes in favor in the plenary session, when 52 were needed to approve it, 76 against and four abstentions.

This was the fifth political trial motion against a Peruvian president in the past four years and recalled similar motions that led to the downfall of presidents Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2018 and Martín Vizcarra in 2020.

If the motion had been admitted, the president would have to appear before the Congress to face the charges and present his defense. However, it would have been extremely difficult for opponents to get the 87 votes (2/3 of the total number of congressmembers) needed to declare the presidential offic vacant for alleged “moral incapacity.”

Castillo, a 52-year-old rural teacher who took office four months ago, has been accused of alleged government meddling in military promotions, which gave rise to the impeachment motion.

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