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Just over a year after his ascension to power, “son of the soil” school teacher turned President Pedro Castillo was removed from power after a failed ‘autogolpe’ (‘self-coup’). It seemed that time had run out for Castillo, as a presidency that started with so much promise- especially for the rural populations- came crashing down. Unfortunately, Castillo’s presidency, albeit a short one, was marred in corruption. In an attempt to ward off impeachment attempts he announced that he would “rule by decree under emergency powers, and called for new legislative elections”. This attempt at a temporary dictatorship lasted all of a few hours, with his ministers and the security forces deserting him, leaving him open to arrest and later impeachment. He was replaced by his vice-president Dina Boluarte, who has been leading Peru ever since. However, Castillo’s removal and replacement has not put an end to this period of political turmoil. Rather, this has been the beginning of another long period of uncertainty and escalating violence, in a country which has long suffered from a lack of stable leadership. Demonstrations leading on from the events of December 2022 have “left almost 60 dead and hundreds injured”. This extreme demonstration of public discontent begs the question, why has there been such a strong response to the demise of a political figure who was deemed to be corrupt?
Despite Castillo’s double-dealings and corruption charges, many are not happy at his removal, nor at his replacement. Castillo was by no means a stellar President, but the support he had from rural Andean communities was undeniable. He won sixteen out of Peru’s twenty-four regions during the 2021 election against right-wing candidate -and daughter of a former Peruvian President- Keiko Fujimori. He dominated in the south and Andean regions of the country, with these long-neglected groups feeling represented by this new political figure. Castillo made it clear from the beginning that in no way did he form part of the political elite; he came from an illiterate family and was a rural school teacher before reaching high office. He made it his mission to fight for the communities such as the one he grew up in, and recognised that they had helped catapult him to power. Always seen with “the traditional white, broad-rimmed hat of his Cajamarca region” he pledged to build a fairer Peru that represented all. Taking all of this into consideration, it is understandable that there is much discontent at his demise.
Making matters worse, Castillo’s replacement Dina Boluarte has failed to maintain an equilibrium and quell discontent. She attempted to bring forward the next election forward to 2024, in order to placate some demands. However, her apparent justification of the heavy-handed behaviour of law enforcement has only further animated and angered the protestors, especially due to the heavy losses suffered during clashes between demonstrators and the security forces. Boluarte also “imposed curfews in some cities and temporarily suspended some civil liberties such as freedom of movement”, action which will also fail to curry favour with the public. Her insistence to stay on as President until the next election only serves to make those who supported Castillo feel more ignored, and has encouraged further protest.
However, it would be unfair to say that the current unrest in Peru is solely the result of Castillo’s removal from power. Obviously, the fall of yet another Peruvian president failing to serve a full term has succeeded in upsetting any sort of stability that remained, and more so due to what Castillo represented. Despite this, Peru has suffered many complex political events and issues which it is still suffering the consequences of, which has obviously contributed to the level of political instability we are currently witnessing. Peru had the highest COVID mortality rate in the world (at 4.9%), which had profound political, economic and social impacts within the country. The day before the presidential and congressional election in April 2021, Peru “marked a second daily record death rate from the coronavirus pandemic” with 384 dead. Thus, it is undeniable that the pandemic had an effect on how the election was run, and potentially its outcome. This is not to say that Castillo did not win the 2021 election fairly, because he did. However, “[p]ollsters were unable to poll and campaigns were on hold” meaning that people were more limited in their choice and the election was ran in a significantly different way. Many within Peru feel they need a ‘do-over’ in order to find a leader who will last the course and be able to improve the lives of all Peruvians, as it is clear that ever-changing leadership is worsening the situation. Every single Peruvian president since 1990 has been either in prison, under house arrest or on trial for corruption, so it is understandable that Peruvians are just searching for the opportunity to find someone who will ‘stick it out’. They want someone in power who represents all, a demand which is hard to refuse.
Overall, Peru’s current political turmoil is extremely complex, and only seems to be becoming more so. The removal of Castillo has upset an already delicate equilibrium, and it would be hard for Boluarte to repair her public image, especially after her public excusing of excessive state violence. Peru as a country has suffered immensely over the last thirty years as a result of governmental corruption and constantly changing leadership, and the COVID pandemic only worsened this situation. Without some agreement between the government and the protestors over when the next election will be, it is hard to imagine this conflict will be resolved any time soon, especially given the heavy losses already suffered on the side of the demonstrators.
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