Pedro Castillo

For other people named Pedro Castillo, see Pedro Castillo (disambiguation).

Pedro Castillo
OSP OCA
Headshot of Castillo facing left against a natural background
Castillo in 2022
63rd President of Peru
In office
28 July 2021 – 7 December 2022
Prime MinisterGuido Bellido
Mirtha Vásquez
Héctor Valer
Aníbal Torres
Betssy Chávez
Vice PresidentFirst Vice President
Dina Boluarte
Second Vice President
Vacant
Preceded byFrancisco Sagasti
Succeeded byDina Boluarte
Personal details
Born
José Pedro Castillo Terrones

(1969-10-19) 19 October 1969 (age 55)
Puña, Peru
Political partyAll for the People (since 2024)
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
​
(m. 2000)​
Children2
EducationCésar Vallejo University (BA, MA)
Signature
This article is part of a series about
Pedro Castillo

Political Career

2021-2022

Government

Crisis

Others

Family

José Pedro Castillo Terrones[a] (Latin American Spanish: [xoˈse ˈpeðɾo kasˈtiʝo teˈrones] ⓘ; born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian politician, former elementary school teacher, and union leader who served as the President of Peru from 28 July 2021 to 7 December 2022.[1][2] Facing imminent impeachment proceedings, on 7 December 2022, Castillo attempted to illegally dissolve Congress and rule by decree. In response, the Congress of the Republic of Peru (including his own political party) impeached him, resulting in his removal from office.[3][4][5][6]

Born to a peasant family in Puña, Cajamarca, Castillo began working in Peru's informal economy as a teenager to earn funds for his studies in education and later returned to his hometown to become a primary school teacher. He attained political prominence as a leading figure in a school teachers' strike in 2017 and ran in the 2021 presidential election as the candidate of the Free Peru party. Castillo announced his presidential candidacy after seeing his students undergo hardships from the lack of resources in rural Peru, with the election occurring amidst the country's COVID-19 pandemic and a period of democratic deterioration in the nation. With the support of individuals living in rural and outlying provinces, he placed first in the initial round of the presidential vote and advanced to the second round where he won against his opponent Keiko Fujimori.[7][8] Castillo's victory in the presidential race was confirmed on 19 July 2021 and he was inaugurated on 28 July.[9][10]

After taking office, Castillo named far-left and left-wing cabinets, due to the influence of Free Peru leader Vladimir Cerrón and other more left-wing politicians.[11][12][13] A social conservative, Castillo ultimately began to align his policies with Congress and Evangelical groups on social issues, including his opposition to same-sex marriage, gender studies and sex education.[14][15][16][17] He would leave the Free Peru party in June 2022 to govern as an independent.[18] In attempts to appease the right-wing Congress, he later appointed members of center and center-right political parties as ministers of state.[19][20] Castillo was noted for appointing four different governments in six months, a Peruvian record.[21]

Castillo's presidency had a minority in congress, and faced opposition which led to three impeachment proceedings, although the first two failed to reach the necessary votes to remove him from office.[19][22][23] Following the second failed impeachment vote in March 2022, protests took place across the country against high fuel and fertilizer prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Mining protests also intensified as the country's economy plummeted.[24][25] On 1 December 2022, Peru's Congress approved a motion initiated by opposition lawmakers to start the third formal attempt to impeach him since he took office.[26]

On 7 December 2022, Castillo, citing obstruction by Congress, attempted a self-coup, attempting to form a provisional government, institute a national curfew, and call for the formation of an assembly to draft a new constitution. Castillo was impeached by Congress within the day and was detained for sedition and high treason.[27][28] He was succeeded by First Vice President Dina Boluarte. After his removal, pro-Castillo protests broke out calling for new elections and the release of Castillo from detention, to which the new government of President Boluarte, who swiftly allied with the opposition to Castillo, responded with violence, resulting in the Ayacucho massacre and Juliaca massacre.[29][30]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Peru's Castillo assumes presidency amid political storms in divided nation". Reuters. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Peru Libre: Ideario y Programa" (PDF). 2021. p. 8. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Peru's Overlapping Messes". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023. Rural and indigenous peoples have been historically under-served by Lima-based national institutions. In 2021, Peruvians elected the country's first 'campesino president,' but he faced an obstructionist opposition and proved unable to make good on any of his campaign promises, producing significant disillusion.
  4. ^ "Peru's president dissolves Congress, but legislators vote to replace him". NPR. The Associated Press. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Peru's President Pedro Castillo replaced by Dina Boluarte after impeachment". BBC News. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  6. ^ Marina, Diego Lopez (7 December 2022). "Peru's Pedro Castillo impeached, detained by authorities after attempting to dissolve congress". Perú Reports. Retrieved 20 November 2023. President Pedro Castillo of Peru was ousted from office and later detained by authorities after he illegally attempted to dissolve congress hours before the body was set to vote on his impeachment.
  7. ^ "Presentación de resultados, segunda elección presidencial 2021" (in Spanish). ONPE. 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  8. ^ "National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) official second round results" (in Spanish). ONPE. 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  9. ^ Aquino, Marco (19 July 2021). "Peru socialist Castillo confirmed president after lengthy battle over results". Reuters. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :62 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :39 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Aquino, Marco; Rochabrun, Marcelo (5 November 2021). "Peru's Congress confirms new moderate left Cabinet". Reuters. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  13. ^ Collyns, Dan (6 February 2022). "Peru's prime minister to step down after allegations of domestic violence". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jones 2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :44 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference France 24 2021 soc con was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Asensio et al. 2021, pp. 55–56.
  18. ^ "Peruvian President Pedro Castillo leaves Marxist political party that helped bring him to power". Perú Reports. 5 July 2022.
  19. ^ a b Garzón, Aníbal (1 January 2023). "Peru's permanent coup". Le Monde diplomatique. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Pedro Castillo nombra a un congresista moderado para liderar el Consejo de Ministros". France 24 (in Spanish). 2 February 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference :37 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "Congreso no admite a debate moción de vacancia contra Pedro Castillo". La Republica (in Spanish). 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Peru's president avoids impeachment after marathon debate". Al Jazeera. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Peru Imposes Curfew to Stymie Protests Over Rising Fuel Costs". Reuters. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Analysis: Peru's Castillo hardens stance on mining protests as economy stumbles". Reuters. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  26. ^ "Peru Congress backs motion to start impeachment against Castillo". Reuters. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  27. ^ Collyns, Dan (7 December 2022). "Peru's president reportedly detained and accused of sedition". The Guardian.
  28. ^ Taj, Mitra (7 December 2022). "Peru's President Quickly Ousted After Moving to Dissolve Congress". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  29. ^ BRICEÑO, FRANKLIN; GARCIA CANO, REGINA (12 December 2022). "Anger in rural areas fuels protests against Peru government". AP News. ABC News. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Peru protests grow despite new president's early election pledge". Al Jazeera English. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.