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What Castillo's Power Grab and Quick Ousting Means for Peru

Dec 7, 2022 | 23:33 GMT

Police officers stand guard outside the Lima Prefecture, where Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was detained after he tried to dissolve Congress, in Lima on Dec. 7, 2022.

Police officers stand guard outside the Lima Prefecture, where Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was detained after he tried to dissolve Congress, in Lima on Dec. 7, 2022.

(ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images)

In Peru, the impeachment and arrest of President Pedro Castillo are unlikely to improve political stability and will probably also slow the country's economic growth by hindering public and private sector investment. Less than two years after taking office, Peru's president has been impeached and detained by authorities after he tried to dissolve Congress ahead of a scheduled vote to oust him. In a televised address broadcast on Dec. 7, Castillo announced plans to install a new emergency government that would rule by decree until the country's next congressional election. He also pledged to use the legislative hiatus to restructure Peru's judiciary and police institutions. In response to Castillo's shock announcement, lawmakers in Congress moved up their planned impeachment meeting from 3:00 pm to 12:30 pm local time, where they then swiftly voted to formally remove Castillo from power on the grounds of his ''moral incapacity.'' Shortly thereafter, the head...

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