Peru has been in the news over the last couple of days with its former President now detained by police (read the BBC News article). Chair of our Peru task group, Phil Bradford, explains some of what has been happening and why our friends in our partner diocese need our prayers at this time.
"On 7 December, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo faced an impeachment vote in Congress. It was the third such vote since he took office in July 2021, in a presidency marked by extreme polarisation, rapid ministerial turnover and repeated allegations of corruption. On this occasion, Castillo tried to prevent the vote by dissolving Congress and imposing rule by decree (a ‘government of exception’), which included a national nighttime curfew. In response, nearly all of his cabinet resigned. The Peruvian media deemed it a ‘golpe de estado’ (coup d’état). The Constitutional Tribunal ruled the move illegal, while the army and police refused to back Castillo, citing their constitutional responsibilities. Congress then voted to remove him. While fleeing the presidential palace, aiming for the Mexican Embassy, Castillo was arrested and placed in police detention. That same afternoon, Dina Boluarte, the vice president, was sworn in as Peru’s first female president.
For Peruvians, these events brought back memories of Alberto Fujimori’s successful autogolpe (self-coup) of 1992. The story since then is a grim one. Every living former president of Peru is currently in prison, under investigation or has been imprisoned in the past for misconduct. The last few years have been especially turbulent. In 2020, there were three presidents in a week. On top of the trauma of the pandemic, which saw Peru suffer one of the worst death rates in the world, this political unrest has caused misery and worry for ordinary Peruvians. While the current crisis passed rapidly, over within hours, people naturally remain concerned about what might happen.
In the midst of these problems, our friends in our partner Diocese of Peru need our prayers. Please hold them in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time."
