ペルー議会、大統領を罷免 解散宣言を無視

【リマＡＦＰ＝時事】ペルー議会は７日、ペドロ・カスティジョ大統領の罷免を求める弾劾決議案を採択した。カスティジョ氏はこの直前に議会の解散を宣言していたが、議会はそれを無視し採決を断行した。（写真はカスティジョ大統領）
　元教員のカスティジョ氏は、昨年の大統領選でケイコ・フジモリ氏に対し予想外の勝利を収め同年７月に就任したが、度重なる内閣改造や複数の汚職捜査、反政府デモといった波乱が続き、今回の弾劾投票は３度目だった。
　カスティジョ氏は議会の投票に先立ち行った国民向けテレビ演説で、議会を一時的に解散し、「特別緊急政府を設置する」と発表。９か月以内に新しい憲法を起草するため早急に新たな議会を招集するとし、それまでは「行政命令によって統治」を行うと説明した。また、同日より午後１０時～午前４時の外出禁止令を全国に発令すると宣言した。
　ディナ・ボルアルテ副大統領はツイッターへの投稿で、大統領の発表を「クーデター」と非難。議会の投票では、１３０議員のうち１０１人がカスティジョ氏の弾劾に賛成した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/12/08-13:01）

Peru's leftist president Pedro Castillo was ousted by lawmakers and arrested Wednesday in a dizzying series of events in a country long prone to political upheaval.
Dina Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer who had been vice president, was sworn in as Peru's first female president just hours after Castillo tried to dissolve Congress in a move criticized as an attempted coup.
The day of high drama began with Castillo facing his third impeachment attempt since the former rural school teacher unexpectedly won power from Peru's traditional political elite in an election 18 months ago.
In a televised address to the nation, the 53-year-old announced that he was dissolving the opposition-dominated Congress, installing a curfew, and would rule by decree.
As criticism poured in over the address, lawmakers defiantly gathered earlier than planned to debate the impeachment motion and approved it, with 101 votes out of a total of 130 lawmakers.
Castillo was impeached for his moral incapacity to exercise power, after a litany of crises including six investigations against him, five cabinet reshuffles and large protests.
The constitution allows impeachment proceedings to be brought against a president based on alleged political rather than legal wrongdoing -- making impeachments commonplace in Peru.
Castillo was arrested on Wednesday evening, said Marita Barreto, coordinator of a team of prosecutors who deal with government corruption.
A source in the attorney general's office told AFP he was being investigated for rebellion.
Castillo became the third president since 2018 to be sacked under the moral incapacity provision in the constitution.
Within two hours, Boluarte took the oath of office in front of Congress to serve out the rest of Castillo's term, until July 2026.
Peru is no stranger to political instability: it had three different presidents in five days in 2020, and is now on its sixth president since 2016.
- Political outsider -
After the impeachment vote, Castillo had left the presidential palace with a bodyguard, heading to the Lima police headquarters before his arrest was officially announced.
His supporters criticized their leader's ousting.
I want to denounce the fact that our president has been kidnapped by the national police, that he has been detained with premeditation and treachery by Congress, said retired soldier Manuel Gaviria, 59.
But in her swearing-in ceremony before lawmakers, donning the presidential sash, Boluarte said there was an attempted coup by Mr. Pedro Castillo that did not receive any support in the democratic institutions or out in the streets.
Castillo came out of seemingly nowhere to win 50.12 percent of votes in a June 2021 runoff election against right-wing Keiko Fujimori, the corruption-charged daughter of graft-convicted ex-president Alberto Fujimori.
The ousted president was born in a small village where he worked as a teacher for 24 years, and was largely unknown until he led a national strike in 2017 that forced the then-government to agree to pay rise demands.
Castillo sought to portray himself as a humble servant of the people, traveling on horseback for much of his presidential campaign, and promising to end corruption.
However allegations against him quickly flooded in.
Investigations he faces range from alleged graft and obstruction of justice to plagiarizing his university thesis.
In October, Peru's attorney general also filed a constitutional complaint accusing Castillo of heading a criminal organization involving his family and allies.
Castillo and his lawyers long argued the investigations against him were part of a plot to unseat him.
This intolerable situation cannot continue, he said earlier Wednesday as he announced a plan to convene a new Congress to draft an updated constitution within nine months.
- 'Now former president' -
Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of Congress ahead of the vote.
We are tired of this corrupt government that was stealing from day one, said 51-year-old Johana Salazar.
Ricardo Palomino, 50, a systems engineer, said Castillo's attempt to dissolve parliament was totally unacceptable and unconstitutional. It went against everything and these are the consequences.
Ahead of the impeachment, the United States demanded Castillo reverse his decision, and said after the vote that it no longer considered him to be the president.
My understanding is that, given the action of the Congress, he is now former president Castillo, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, saying lawmakers took corrective action in line with democratic rules.
Latin American governments voiced deep concern and appealed for respect for democracy, but there were also hints of support for Castillo from fellow leftist leaders.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, one of Castillo's staunchest allies, blamed economic and political elites for a hostile environment since the beginning of his legitimate presidency.
The government of Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, called for dialogue involving all political actors, adding that democracy requires the recognition of the popular will expressed both in the elections for president and for Congress.
Brazil was more critical of Castillo's actions, calling his attempt to dissolve Congress a violation of democracy and the rule of law.