(Lima) The Peruvian Parliament on Tuesday rejected the debating of a motion for impeachment for “moral incapacity” against President Dina Boluarte for the repression of recent anti-government demonstrations which left around fifty people dead.
Only 37 deputies voted in favor, while a minimum of 50 votes was required.
The initiative was carried by left-wing deputies linked to former President Pedro Castillo, deposed for “moral incapacity” and imprisoned in December, accused of having attempted a coup d’etat by wanting to dissolve the Parliament which was preparing to oust him from power.
On Twitter, the Peruvian president welcomed the decision of the Parliament, welcoming that “in circumstances where it is necessary to maintain the unity and stability of the country, respect for the constitutional order and democracy prevails”.
The fall of Mr. Castillo and his replacement by Mr.me Boluarte, its former vice-president, provoked a wave of violent and harshly repressed demonstrations across the country.
On January 10, the Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation against Mr.me Boluarte and several ministers and former ministers of his government, for alleged offenses of “genocide, aggravated homicide and serious injuries” during law enforcement operations.
Amnesty International, in a report in mid-February, accused the Peruvian government of “committing serious human rights violations in the context of its violent repression of demonstrations”. According to the NGO, the authorities also acted “with a marked racist bias, targeting historically discriminated populations”.
The Peruvian government has categorically denied these accusations.
The impeachment motions for “moral incapacity” brought by the unicameral Peruvian Parliament are recurrent. Pedro Castillo (left) in 2022, but also Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (right) in 2018 and Martin Vizcarra (center) in 2020 had been targeted by these procedures.