(UnitedVoice.com) – Authoritarianism has been spreading in Central and South America over the last few decades. Leaders of countries like Venezuela and El Salvador have made moves to change their Constitutions to allow them to serve longer or multiple terms. Peru’s president threw the nation into chaos when he tried a similar move.
Wednesday, December 7, was an eventful day for Peru. Twice-impeached President Pedro Castillo issued a decree dissolving Congress. Officials in Peru and the US criticized him for the move. US Ambassador Lisa Kenna urged him to “reverse” his decision.
The legislative body responded to the leader’s actions by voting to remove him from power. Then, authorities arrested him for the crime of rebellion. The nation swore in Vice President Dina Boluarte as Peru’s new president; she’s the country’s first female president in history.
Dina Boluarte (vice president of Peru) just assumed presidency. Former President Pedro Castillo was impeached and arrested after attempting to dissolve congress.
— José Díaz-Balart (@jdbalart) December 7, 2022
Boluarte is a 60-year-old attorney elected on the ticket with Castillo in 2021. However, when he dissolved Congress, she called his actions a coup and backed away from him. The new president is bilingual in Spanish and Quechua, the language spoken by aboriginal people in South America.
Castillo now becomes the second former president in custody in the country. Former President Alberto Fujimori is serving a 25-year prison sentence for corruption.
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