Peru’s president impeached, arrested after he attempts to dissolve Congress

Dina Boluarte became Peru’s first female President on December 7, capping off a dramatic day which saw her predecessor arrested for the alleged crime of rebellion and impeached by lawmakers.

Boluarte, the country’s former vice president, was sworn into the top job at Congress to become Peru’s sixth President in under five years, CNN reports.

The ceremony took place hours after a majority of 101 members in the 130-person legislative body voted to impeach former leader Pedro Castillo.

The tumultuous day began when then-President Castillo announced plans to dissolve Congress and install an emergency government, ahead of a looming impeachment vote by lawmakers, which Peru’s Ombudsman described as an “attempted coup d’état”.

He also called for parliamentary elections to work on a new constitution.

The move prompted a string of cabinet resignations, fiery reactions from top officials and condemnation from regional neighbours – and ultimately failed to prevent his impeachment in Congress.

Peruvian armed forces rejected Castillo’s attempt to sideline lawmakers, calling it an “infringement of the constitution”.

And Boluarte herself criticized Castillo’s dissolution plan, describing it on Twitter as “a coup that aggravates the political and institutional crisis that Peruvian society will have to overcome with strict adherence to the law”.

International officials joined the chorus of condemnations of Castillo, with the United States urging the leader to “reverse” the move and “allow Peru’s democratic institutions to function according to the Constitution,” US Ambassador in Peru Lisa Kenna said on Twitter.