By Alberto Giovanelli
Pedro Castillo has been arrested three hours after announcing the dissolution of Congress, decreeing an emergency government and calling for elections to renew Congress and approve a new Constitution. This flight forward by a president besieged by an eternal political crisis since he took office just over a year and a half ago, had generated enormous uncertainty and even rejection in his ranks, who joined the chorus of the right wing and described his decision as a “self-coup d’état.” Apparently his own trusted bodyguard ended up turning him in for detention.
The final move of the rural school teacher who became the surprise in the last elections ended in a solo bet. Faced with a new vote underway to remove him through Congress, promoted by the right, Castillo, in addition to announcing the dissolution of Parliament, had declared that he would reorganize the justice system, from the Judiciary to other institutions such as the Public Ministry, the Constitutional Court and the National Board of Justice. Of course, he clarified and assured “that he would scrupulously respect the economic model.” All this happened days after the visit of a high-level delegation from the OAS, at the request of the president, to assess on the ground whether democracy was in danger in Peru.
Since his intentions became known, in a message to the nation, the reactions of rejection were immediate, both from the right and from the “caviar” left, citing respect for the institutional order of the Fujimorist constitution of 1993. The Constitutional Court requested that the Armed Forces “restore order”. The congress members had decided to continue the session despite the president’s announcement of the Congress’ closure and approved his dismissal with 101 votes in favor, six against and 10 abstentions. Dina Boluarte, the current vice president, took office hours later and, in her first statement called for the formation of a Government of National Unity of all the political forces.
The fall of Castillo brings to Peruvians the worst echoes of the past. Uncertainty in the country is total and nobody knows what can happen in the next few hours.
Although it is risky to draw definitive conclusions from this entire process, we can affirm that it does not surprise us. As we have said on several occasions, Castillo’s fate was in jeopardy since he took office and his only intention was to reach a consensus with the right, which demanded more and more concessions, until managing to corner him with various demands, among others, the absolute abandonment of the program that he was voted for. This was rapidly eroding his support among the social base that raised him to government and strengthening the aspirations of the most reactionary sectors of the bourgeoisie that worked to remove him from office since he took office.
The story would have been different if Castillo had called from the outset for mobilization to impose the convocation of the Constituent Assembly that he promised and confronted the corporations and wealthy sectors at the same time that he proposed improvements for the impoverished working masses. Unfortunately none of this happened. Castillo was never a revolutionary and he adapted from the outset to ingratiate himself with the power in the shadows of the richest sector of Peru, believing that this way he could get them to accept him. And when he realized that they had reached a consensus to remove him, it was already too late to gather any social or political support. Alone, he ended up launching a farce and was finally arrested by the armed forces in which he always trusted.
We do not grant the corrupt Peruvian Congress any moral or political authority to remove or try Castillo and we demand his immediate release. Only an Independent Commission of popular organizations could sanction the now ex-president. We reiterate that whenever there is talk of “legitimacy and institutionality” in Peru, it implies adhering to the Fujimori Constitution of 1993, which must be repealed through a Free and Sovereign Constituent Assembly so that the people as a whole can debate how to resolve the crisis and what measures to take.
It will not be by the hand of the traditional partidocracy that we will be able to get out of this critical situation Peruvian capitalism has us in. We are attentive to the evolution of the situation and what will be the reaction of workers, the youth and social movements in the face of the uncertainty that we are going through. From our ISL, we will not abandon the efforts to achieve the most absolute unity to impose the popular mobilization that finds a true political, economic and institutional way out to change once and for all the Peruvian capitalist structure that has been shown once again to be absolutely incapable of responding to the needs of our people.