This Tuesday, the local media ‘Epicentro TV’ revealed a report presented by Congressman Wilson Soto seeking the political disqualification of peter castle after some statements about an eventual outlet to the sea for Bolivia. The document would be delivered to the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations.
The 89-page report explains that Castillo would have made statements that “do not embody the desire of the Nation,” after indicating his intention to ask Peruvians about whether the neighboring country should be given access to the sea.
In an interview in January of this year, the journalist Fernando del Rincón of the CNN chain asked Castillo about an opinion that the president had made in 2018, where he stated that he was in favor of Bolivia having access to the sea.
“I did not say it as president. It’s an idea. But now we will consult the people. For that, the people need to manifest themselves. If Peru agrees… it would never do things that the people do not want,” the president said at the beginning of the year.
“I am not telling him that I am going to give him the sea for Bolivia,” added Castillo. For his part, Congressman Soto assured that the president’s declarations were made without thinking that “the national territory is inalienable and inviolable, a declaration that would violate constitutional mandates, such as those denounced and analyzed, putting at risk the integrity and territorial sovereignty of the State, despite being obliged to protect it and make it respect”.
Castillo’s defense vigorously rejected the report presented by Soto. “It has many pages, but no serious legal argument,” said Benjo Espinoza, a lawyer for the Peruvian president.
During a work visit to the city of Arequipa, Castillo assured that he will not respond on the subject.
The crime for which the Peruvian president is accused is contained in article 325 of the Penal Code of Peru and, according to Soto, was committed in an attempted degree. When the proposal became known, the legislator Gladys Echaíz, of the far-right Popular Renovation party, declared herself in favor of the complaint against Castillo, because according to her, it is a serious fact.
“We are not after the persecution of a person, we simply analyze facts, verify behaviors and apply the legal system,” said Echaíz.
Faced with Castillo’s statements, the Bolivian government reacted immediately. The president of the Chamber of Deputies of that country, Fredy Mamani Laura, celebrated Castillo’s “predisposition” for intending to carry out the consultation.
Bolivia lost access to the sea, between the Atacama desert and the Moquegua valleys, in the Pacific War between 1879 and 1883. The allies Peru and Bolivia clashed against Chile, resulting in the isolation of Bolivia from the ocean.
Since 1992, Peru ceded a 20-kilometer beach to Bolivia, which can be covered in its entirety in 20 minutes by car and is 462 kilometers from La Paz. This exit to the sea is called Bolivia Mar or Boliviamar, however, it is abandoned by both States.
The uncertain future of Castillo at the helm
The disapproval level of the former professor reaches 76%, the worst figure since he took office just over a year ago. Currently, the Peruvian president faces five preliminary investigations by the Prosecutor’s Office for cases of alleged corruption, crimes of criminal organization or influence peddling, among others.
For the proposal presented this Tuesday to prosper and become a fact, it must be evaluated and voted on by the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations. If approved, Congress will have to debate it to make the final decision.
On August 4, the Peruvian president attended the Attorney General’s Office to testify in an interrogation about alleged interference in the promotion process of military forces personnel.
There, the president insisted on his innocence and refused to answer the questioning in the case led by the newly elected prosecutor of the Nation, Patricia Benavides.
“The president has denied the charges, has confirmed his innocence and then has indicated that later, when he is summoned, he will testify but that, for this moment, he will exercise his constitutional, legal and conventional right to remain silent”, Espinoza said.
Similarly, his defense asked to reschedule two other citations for investigations of improper bidding in biodiesel contracts and an alleged cover-up of former officials.
like domino pieces
Not only the president has been affected by the accusations. This Tuesday, the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office questioned Lilia Paredesthe first lady, for an investigation of an “alleged improper charge to the detriment of the State.”
The couple of teachers is accused of plagiarism in a master’s thesis presented at the César Vallejo University, in the city of Trujillo. This case was opened in May, when a television program said it had found 54% coincidences with other authors not mentioned in the bibliography.
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses them of the crimes of aggravated plagiarism, generic falsehood and improper collection to the detriment of the State.
“I feel happy for having set out (a master’s degree) with my own sweat, making an effort and carrying out this master’s degree. We did the work on the third and fourth grade children at my school. I don’t think there has been another investigation with those children and that community. We did the investigation with my wife Lilia,” Castillo said in June.
A measure for Castillo’s sister-in-law
The Peruvian Justice ordered the detention for ten days of President Castillo’s sister-in-law, Yenifer Paredes, who is being investigated for alleged influence peddling in a work in the Cajamarca region, where Castillo is from.
The Peruvian authorities went to the Government Palace on Tuesday night (local time) in order to arrest Paredes, without finding her in the facilities. A special team from the Prosecutor’s Office requested the recordings of the security cameras of the last week.
The investigation of Castillo’s sister-in-law began when the program of the América Televisión network broadcast a video in which the young woman spoke with residents of a community to inform them that she needed to register them in order to carry out a sanitation work, despite not occupy any position in the Executive.
For this case, Paredes and the first lady went to testify before the Public Ministry. To this scandal is added the departure of the Minister of the Interior last Friday, who was leading the investigation.
Changes in the Executive
Last Friday, the Peruvian president reorganized his cabinet, making six changes in the leaders of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labor, Transport, Economy and Housing.
Meanwhile, he kept Prime Minister Aníbal Torres in office, who had submitted his resignation a few days ago but Castillo irrevocably denied. The permanence of Torres in his position means that the Executive will not have to seek a new vote from Congress, which he would hardly count on.
The declared war between Castillo and Congress
For a year, the Executive and the Legislative have been constantly at odds. The most recent lawsuit occurred last week, when Congress did not authorize his trip to Colombia to attend the inauguration of the newly elected Gustavo Petro.
The legislators denied his permission to leave the country, arguing that Castillo would not represent the country well due to having so many investigations against him and instability in his government.
The decision has been seen by public opinion as a great measure that has not been seen since the Government of Alexander Toledo in the early years of the 2000s. This demonstrates the difficulty in the relationship, having 67 votes against and 24 in favor so that he could travel to Bogotá.
Added to this are the two attempts by the opposition to remove him from power: the first time was in November 2021, when he was accused of “permanent moral incapacity”, without achieving the necessary force to remove him from power.
Despite the tense relationship with Congress, on March 28 of this year he was acquitted after obtaining 55 votes to leave the 87 that were needed for him to step down from office.
Between scandals and political instability, Pedro Castillo will continue his fractured mandate while the competent institutions carry out investigations into the cases in which he is accused.