By Saya Alvares and Ella Marrufo
Sports Editors
On Dec. 7, Dina Boluarte replaced Peru’s former leader Pedro Castillo, becoming the country’s first female President. Prior to his impeachment, Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress by decree and also faced corruption charges, both of which resulted in lawmakers quickly voting him out of office.
On Dec. 7, Castillo made an unscheduled television address, declaring that he was shutting down Congress, implementing a national curfew, and establishing an “emergency government.” Other government officials quickly denounced these declarations as an attempted coup d’état. As a result, Congress voted to impeach Castillo for “moral incapacity.” The vote passed with a tally of 101-6; Congress only needed 66 percent of the votes for impeachment.
Peru has struggled with their presidents and politicians for years now. For example, in just seven years, Peru has had six different presidents. In 2020, the country saw three different presidents in the span of a single week. In 2021, the Economist Intelligence Unit labeled Peru a “flawed democracy,” which is apparent given the recent impeachment of Castillo, as well as the country’s history of corruption and economic struggles.
Despite Peru’s political turmoil, it managed to produce the country’s first ever female President, Dina Boluarte, a member of the Independent party and the country’s former Vice President. Born in Apurímac, Peru, and a former member of the Free Peru political party, Boluarte worked as a lawyer for over a decade in the country’s national registry, which manages identification cards and personal records. During her vice presidency, Castillo appointed her minister of Development and Social Inclusion in 2021.
In her first speech as President, Boluarte declared, “It is up to us to talk, engage in dialogue, to reach agreements … I ask for time to rescue our country from corruption and incompetence.”
Before her presidency, Boluarte was very open with her disapproval of Castillo’s choices. Following Castillo’s coup declaration, she tweeted, “I reject Pedro Castillo’s decision to break with the constitutional order by closing congress. This … deepens the political and institutional crisis, and Peruvian society will have to overcome the crisis strictly following the law.”
(Sources: NY Times, Reuters, Washington Post, CNN)