2022 Peruvian self-coup attempt

2022 Peruvian self-coup attempt
Part of the Peruvian political crisis (2016–present)
President Pedro Castillo calling for the dissolution of the Congress of Peru
Date 7 December 2022 Location Lima, Peru Result Presidential defeat Failure to dissolve Congress of Peru Removal and arrest of Pedro Castillo Congress swears in First Vice President Dina Boluarte as President of Peru Start of the pro-Castillo protests
Belligerents
President of Peru	Congress of Peru Constitutional Court of Peru Armed Forces of Peru National Police of Peru First Vice President of Peru Council of Ministers Supreme Court of Peru National Board of Justice Supporting Parties: Popular Force Popular Renewal Advance Country
Commanders and leaders
Pedro Castillo Aníbal Torres	José Williams Dina Boluarte

On 7 December 2022, Pedro Castillo, the then-President of Peru, made an attempt to dissolve the Congress amidst looming removal proceedings. This move included the immediate imposition of a curfew, an attempt to establish an emergency government, and a call for the formation of a constituent assembly.^[1][2] Prior to this, Attorney General Patricia Benavides had accused Castillo of leading a criminal organization, a claim that contravened Article 117 of the Constitution of Peru.^[3] She had urged the Congress to remove him from office, leading to the third removal attempt against Castillo.^[4][5][6] Castillo defended his actions by arguing that the Congress, which had obstructed many of his policies,^[7][8][9] was serving oligopolistic businesses and had colluded with the Constitutional Court to undermine the executive branch, thereby creating a "congressional dictatorship".^[7] He also advocated for the immediate election of a constituent assembly,^[7] a demand that had been echoed since the 2020 Peruvian protests.^[10]

However, Castillo's decision to dissolve Congress led to a wave of resignations from his government. The Peruvian Armed Forces also declined to support his actions.^[11][12] On the same day, Castillo was removed and ceased to be president after the Constitutional Court rejected his dissolution of Congress.^[13][14][15] Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn in as the new president later that day.^[16] In the aftermath of Castillo's removal, his supporters initiated nationwide protests demanding his release and Boluarte's resignation. The Boluarte government responded by declaring a national state of emergency on 14 December, massacring protesters,^[17] and suspending some constitutional protections for 30 days.^[18][19] Castillo was subsequently placed in pre-trial detention for 18 months on charges of rebellion and conspiracy,^[20][21] with an additional 36 months of detention for alleged corruption during his administration.^[22][23]

In a controversial move, the Constitutional Court, whose members were elected by Congress in a questionable manner,^[24][25] removed judicial oversight from Congress, effectively granting the legislative body absolute control over the government.^[26][27][28] Castillo maintained that two contentious votes of confidence between his former Prime Minister Aníbal Torres and Congress provided a legal basis for dissolving the legislative body.^[29] However, this claim was disputed by a Constitutional Court ruling, which stated that only Congress could interpret whether a motion of confidence had occurred, thereby consolidating more power in the hands of Congress.^[30] This event was widely characterized as an attempted coup d'état by Peruvian politicians, the Constitutional Court, Peruvian media, and some international news organizations,^[31] drawing comparisons to the autogolpe of Alberto Fujimori during the 1992 Peruvian self-coup d'état.^[32][33][11]

Representatives of many foreign countries, including Spain,^[34] United States,^[35] Brazil,^[36] Uruguay^[37] and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States^[35] rejected Castillo's actions and described them as an attempt to break the constitutional order. According to an Institute of Peruvian Studies [es] poll, 53% of respondents disagreed with his attempt to dissolve Congress, while 44% of participants agreed.^[38] Supporters of Castillo said that a soft coup was perpetrated by Congress against him.^[39][40] Some governments of Latin America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras and Mexico, responded to the crisis by refusing to recognize the Boluarte government and viewing Castillo as president.^[41][42] Castillo has also continued to consider himself as the legal president of Peru.^[43]