By Oyintari Ben
Two hours after Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress, Lawmakers in Peru unanimously voted to impeach him.
The move was met with immediate opposition from the military, the constitutional court, and his own cabinet.
The ch6airman of Congress announced that Vice President Dina Boluarte will now take the oath of office as President at 3 p.m. in Lima.
She will serve as the nation’s sixth president in four years.
101 legislators voted in favour of Castillo’s impeachment due to his “permanent moral incapacity,” six against it, and 10 abstained.
The constitutional court referred to Castillo’s attempt to curtail free speech, establish a new constitution, and suspend congress for nine months as a coup.
Almost immediately after Castillo made his pronouncement, a number of ministries resigned, and the military forces released a statement stating that they opposed any attempt to overthrow the constitutional system.
Even some of Castillo’s own party members supported the impeachment proposal.
Following Castillo’s speech, the Peruvian sol fell as much as 1.7% against the dollar before recovering as the power grab appeared increasingly doomed. Castillo has been demanded to be arrested by several politicians and former president Ollanta Humala.
The action brought back memories of former president Alberto Fujimori’s decision to dissolve legislature in 1992. He had the backing of the military and his ministers at the time.
