Peru’s congress approved the start of impeachment proceedings against President Pedro Castillo, the second such attempt to oust him in four months.
The motion was presented on Tuesday by opposition lawmaker Jorge Montoya and was approved by 76 votes, not far from the number needed to actually impeach a president.
Castillo will defend himself before the unicameral congress, or send his lawyer to do so, on March 28. At least 87 of the 130 lawmakers would need to vote to oust him on the grounds of so-called permanent moral incapacity.
The Peruvian sol weakened 0.75%, the third worst performer among emerging market currencies, as impeachment proceedings started. Castillo’s fate will depend on whether he’ll face new accusations of wrongdoing and on his ability to defend himself, said Alexandra Ames, a political analyst at Universidad del Pacifico in Lima.
“The numbers are tight but the math is still in favor of Castillo,” Ames said in an interview. “The atmosphere hasn’t heated up enough inside congress for impeachment to prosper.”
The move to get rid of Castillo came after Karelim Lopez, a businesswoman under investigation for alleged money laundering, expressed a willingness to cooperate with prosecutors. Her lawyer told local media that Lopez revealed information about people close to Castillo being involved in irregularities in the bidding process for a contract to build a bridge.
Castillo denies the accusations and says they are politically motivated.
Castillo took office in July, and in December survived a first attempt to impeach him. Peru’s laws make it relatively easy to remove a head of state. Former President Martin Vizcarra was impeached in 2020, and nearly every president in recent history has been impeached, imprisoned or sought in criminal investigations.
