There is a political crisis looming (again) in Peru: Castillo denounces a plot against him and the OAS will intervene

Once again, Peru is experiencing a critical episode after years of a governance crisis that is still going strong, a situation that could have calmed down after the presidential election won by Pedro Castillo, but which has only become more complicated by the continuous threats of impeachment against him by the Fujimorist opposition that is inside parliament.

On October 12, after the Public Ministry of Peru filed a constitutional complaint against Castillo, who is accused of leading a criminal organization, the president requested to activate the Democratic Charter of the OAS, a mediation mechanism that can be activated when the government of a member State considers that their legitimate exercise of power is at risk.

In the midst of the chaos, Castillo has taken a step that seems naive and even controversial, taking into account the history of the Organization of American States (OAS) against leftist governments in the region, on issues such as ignoring the true government of Venezuela. led by Nicolás Maduro; the legitimization of the false presidency of Juan Guaidó, among other anti-democratic actions such as those carried out in Bolivia.

The Peruvian president has asked that organization for help to maintain the democratic stability of the country, a request that citizens of Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua warn that the influence of the OAS only generated greater social instability, violence in the streets, attempts at coups d’état, and as former Bolivian president Evo Morales must remember, a violent overthrow so as to later support the creation of a de facto pseudo-military and dictatorial government headed by Jeanine Áñez.

However, Castillo’s request to the OAS, who heads a government that has not been able to carry out the measures proposed to turn the country towards issues of social interest as the president himself proposed, could also be a strategy to watch one’s back and guarantee their maintenance in power until the end of their mandate, but at what cost?

Castillo’s bet forces the OAS to be transparent, especially in the face of its widely questioned interference in the region. In this way, it is practically obliged to keep the current Peruvian government in power and prevent a President from being removed once again, as has repeatedly happened in recent years. That would ‘clean’, in a certain way, the credibility of the organization, although it possibly does very little for the secretary general, Luis Almagro. The cost that Castillo might have to pay is that he has to carry on with his «government» by obeying the opposition and putting aside his own governmental program.What happens in Peru?

The president of Peru warned on Wednesday about an attempted coup that would be promoted by the National Prosecutor’s Office through accusations that, according to him, are part of a «plot» against democracy. In addition, the president warned his opponents that he will complete his mandate.

«I denounce before the country and the international community this practice of conspiracy. The political forces that plunged the country into the largest process of corruption in national history in the 1990s, are the ones that are now promoting, as at that time, a form of a new coup d’état in Peru», accused the president. in a message to the nation in which he was accompanied by his cabinet.

His speech, which was made on Wednesday night, generated strong expectations, since it occurred in the midst of the new institutional crisis that he is facing after the attorney general, Patricia Benadides, filed a constitutional complaint against him before Congress, a body that will now analyze whether the accusation proceeds or not. The case could culminate in his removal from office.

With this process, Castillo became the first president in the history of Peru to face a constitutional complaint, although he insisted that there is no objective evidence to charge him.

«To the amazing speed of this complaint is added the open exhortation that the prosecutor makes to the Congress of the Republic, by telling them in her message that she has already fulfilled her work and now it is up to Congress to do its thing, highlighting the not so subtle concertation for the plot”, he affirmed.

He also considered that this is an anti-democratic process that breaks the constitutional order as a result of the complicity of magistrates who began the political persecution even before he took office.

«My election as President of the Republic meant the access to power of the marginal provincial and urban social sectors for the first time in the history of Peru. It was the dream come true of the great national majorities, but the money sectors, the traditional politicians who have always thrived on corruption are reluctant to accept the popular will», said Castillo.Pressures

For Castillo, the plot against his government includes pressure on officials to make false statements and involve him in crimes that he never committed.

«New forms of psychological torture are being instrumentalized with preliminary arrests and preventive prisons to obtain accusations (…) the new coup plotters do not care about anything, neither the people, nor the family nor the Homeland», he affirmed.

Regarding the accusations, he reiterated that he has not committed any act of corruption. «On the contrary, my commitment is the same as before and always: to fight to end this scourge that does so much damage to the country; however, if some betrayed my trust, let justice take care of them», he said.

Castillo assured that, in addition to him, this persecution is being suffered by his relatives, including his wife Lilia Paredes and his sister-in-law Yenifer Paredes, who is currently in preventive detention.

«They have been attacked with the sole purpose of destroying me, because they don’t want my term to end», he denounced.

However, he warned, he will only hand over power on July 28, 2026 to whoever is elected that year as the new President of the Republic in democratic elections.The «preservation of democratic institutions» in Peru

Following Castillo’s request, the OAS approved on Thursday a resolution supporting the Peruvian government of Pedro Castillo, for the «preservation of the democratic institutions» in the country.

The regional agency decided to send a mission to Peru in response to a request from the leftist president, investigated for multiple causes of corruption and pressured by a large part of Congress to leave his post.

In a special session in Washington, the OAS Permanent Council called on «all actors» to act within «the rule of law».

«We endorse the resolution of the OAS Permanent Council and we are available to provide support and cooperation, at the request of the Government of Peru, through efforts to promote dialogue and strengthen its democratic system of government», said the Secretary General of the institution, Luis Almagro, in his Twitter account.

The OAS designated «a high-level group made up of representatives of the member states, in accordance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, to carry out a visit to Peru in order to analyze the situation», indicates the text.

The letter lists a series of «attacks» against the Executive by the Judicial and Legislative powers, which have twice denied the president to leave the country for official visits, preventing him from fulfilling his international agenda due to the investigations in which he is involved.