Top Prosecutor’s Castillo Investigation Sparks New Peru Upheaval
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(Bloomberg) -- Peru’s top prosecutor filed a complaint in congress against President Pedro Castillo for alleged corruption offenses, unleashing another bout of political turbulence in the Andean nation.
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The move potentially gives a boost to the opposition’s bid to oust Castillo, and also sparked controversy over the legality of investigating a sitting president.
The prosecutor’s office has accused the leftist head of state of influence trafficking, and corruption over contracts for a bridge project, among other alleged offenses.
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Under Peruvian law, a sitting president can be investigated, but only for crimes such as treason and election-tampering, according to Omar Cairo, a Lima-based constitutional lawyer. The offenses of which the prosecutors accused him aren’t covered by the constitution, he said.
“Congress should shelve the constitutional complaint, otherwise the lawmakers would be violating the constitution,” Cairo said, in a phone interview from Lima.
Since Castillo took office last year, the country has been rocked by near-constant political crisis. He has survived two impeachment attempts, and his approval rating has plunged to about 25% amid continual cabinet shake-ups and resignations.
The accusations come as some opposition lawmakers are seeking to gather support for a third bid to remove Castillo from power. A president can be forced out of office if two thirds of members of the unicameral congress vote to impeach him.
The nation’s dollar bonds due 2031 fell 0.2 cent at midday local time on Wednesday, sending the yield up to 6.2%.
“Coup D’etat”
In a rare meeting with foreign media outlets on Tuesday night in Lima, Castillo described the prosecutor’s actions as an attempted “coup d’etat,” and said he would defend himself against the “political persecution” he is suffering.
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In her complaint, top prosecutor Patricia Benavides accused Castillo of overseeing a criminal organization run from the presidential palace. Prosecutors also conducted 36 raids across the country and arrested five close former advisers to Castillo earlier on Tuesday, as part of the investigation.
Castillo has repeatedly denied the charges, and says the prosecutors don’t have any evidence against him.
Opposition lawmaker Eduardo Salhuana told RPP radio that although the constitution limits investigating a sitting president, that’s overridden by international conventions signed by Peru.
“That will be the debate in the committees and then in plenary,” Salhuana said.
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Benavides said in remarks streamed live on Facebook that congress must decide on the process of the constitutional complaint within the framework of the UN convention against corruption. Cairo, the constitutional lawyer, disputed her interpretation of the convention, saying that it calls for countries to fight corruption under their own internal laws.
A congressional subcommittee is also holding hearings against Vice President Dina Boluarte that could lead to her dismissal.
Despite the political upheaval, the economy is forecast to expand 2.7% this year, faster than some regional peers including Brazil, Mexico and Chile, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
(Adds comments from constitutional lawyer from 4th paragraph.)
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