He was to go to the lectern at three o’clock in the afternoon and deliver a speech that his advisory group had prepared the previous day. It was Pedro Castillo’s way of defending himself on Wednesday against what he saw as a form of harassment by Congress, which had thrown every possible obstacle in his way since taking office from Peru. “I affirm that we are a democratic government that respects the constitutional rule of law, the institutional framework and the balance of power,” Castillo wanted to say to the congressmen. The text had been written by several of his employees. Luis Felipe Mendieta, Chief of Staff at the President’s Office, gave it the final check and sent it to the President.
However, a few hours earlier, setting aside the tone of this speech, he announced that he would dissolve Congress and rule by decree. A self-coup that took the Peruvians back to 1992 when Alberto Fujimori did the same. Except that the move went well for the Japanese-born president and he stayed in power for the next decade, forming an autocracy. Without the support of the military, Castillo failed in what the most well-meaning consider reckless. If he hadn’t, he would have uttered a few words of reconciliation and apology with a few doses of self-apology, which would certainly have kept him in power – analysts estimate the opposition didn’t have enough support to remove him. Instead, he’s currently in prison for rebellion.
This is the full speech that EL PAÍS had access to, transcribed as Castillo wanted to read:
PRESIDENT OF THE CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CONGRESS MEMBERS OF THE 13 UNGROUPED PARLIAMENTARY AND CONGRESSIVE GROUPS
Subscribe to EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without limits.
Subscribe to
DEAR COUNTRIES, VERY GOOD AFTERNOON
Today, exactly one year after my first submission of a similar application, I again go before the state representation to assert my right of substantive defense against an alleged third job posting application, as it is known that two previous ones were negotiated. , which were unsuccessful for lack of reason and basis.
I was elected by the will of the Peruvian people in a democratic electoral process for a period of 05 years, as were you, Congressmen, and that democratic expression must be respected in a state that prides itself on being constitutional, democratic and internal by law its that, the balance of power, is the raison d’être between the legislature and the executive.
From this Chamber, I plead and affirm before you and the country my innocence in the face of all the baseless allegations that have been leveled against me to date, that you were merely trying to discredit my position as constitutional President, and thus becomes the will and the decision bypassed the referendum.
I was recently the subject of a constitutional charge for the alleged crime of treason, and despite the lack of cause, this lawsuit proceeded, knowing that it was unconstitutional and flagrantly violated my fundamental rights. Well, despite my innocence, they tried to frame me as guilty. Such a situation prompted the Constitutional Court to issue a final judgment, declaring the habeas corpus claim in my favor REASONABLE and declaring the Audit Report and Final Report of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Complaints to be NULL.
In the pertinent foundations of this sentence, issued by the supreme interpreter of the Constitution, it was crystal clear that in our political regime the President of the Republic enjoys certain privileges and immunities precisely because he is the head of state. In this sense, as long as the possible decision of the Congress of the Republic can have major repercussions on the system of separation of powers and the balance of powers and on our political regime; the greater will be the need for the intervention of constitutional courts.
In this context, the factual imputation requirement, both in a preliminary investigation and in an impeachment proceeding, whether on the grounds of Article 117 of the Basic Law or because of a violation of the Constitution, requires the duty to provide society with a detailed justification of the violations or crimes committed by the attributed to Presidents. There is therefore a constitutional obligation to carry out a follow-up inspection of parliamentary action (you see the 31st principle).
This presupposes, added the Constitutional Court, that the facts justifying the violation of the constitution, the classification of the violation and the sanction to be imposed must be adequately justified and justified. Therefore, to conclude that a violation of the constitution has been committed, no matter how political the body having the competence to reach such a conclusion, is an activity that cannot be in conflict with elementary criteria of reasonableness and proportionality (see can see the justification 48º).
Thus, a request for a post, which undoubtedly contains an implicit sanction, such as the removal of the President from the constitutional exercise of the office conferred on him by the Peruvian people, cannot be exploited with vague, repetitive arguments and without rational objective support.
Notwithstanding the statement that this third job posting application again uses archived facts in both the first and second applications, today they are combined into one general, diffuse and unsubstantiated story about the takeover of the state apparatus, investigations into alleged corruption and the alleged plagiarism of my thesis .
The principle of the presumption of innocence does not exist in our country, nor does it exist in this third vacancy application in just 1 year 5 months of government. The sector, which wants to dismiss me before I take office today, has shown me its opposition. Today, I also urge and demand that those who have had my trust and who are now being sought by the judiciary to clarify the facts they are being charged with, stand up and stop harming the government and the country. That the judicial authorities conduct an impartial trial and, if found guilty, pay for their crimes.
Members of Congress, with facts subject to a preliminary investigation by prosecutors, intend to vacate the President for permanent moral incompetence. For this reason, I must reiterate that democracy is to be broken today by the testimonies of those who allegedly committed a crime and are receiving proceeds to point me and cover up their irregularities, using the process for an investigation.
The request for a vacancy is poor and inappropriate, it is enough to check its page 1, fourth paragraph, where it says: “Except for the reasons mentioned (with reference to those provided for in Article 117º of the Constitution), it is not possible to submit it THE PRESIDENT A POLITICAL PROCESS OR A PREJUDICE DURING ITS TIME. That is, even if the President has committed serious acts that call into question his legitimacy to hold office or that affect the life or integrity of persons or relevant legal interests, he cannot be removed through the impeachment process ARTICLES 99º AND 100º OF THE CONSTITUTION “.
Between yesterday and today we see several of the investigated and emerging effective collaborators emerging in the media contradicting one another and declaring that they have no evidence of what they said because “they got lost” or “it’s them was said”. However, no coherent evidence was found that could affect me as a person. As you can see, these are just baseless claims.
I was chosen to serve my country to meet the social demands of Peruvians who have been neglected for many years. I affirm that we are a democratic government that respects the constitutional rule of law, the institutional framework and the balance of power. I HAVE NOT PARTICIPATED IN ANY ACT OF CORRUPTION, as I will demonstrate in due course and before the competent authorities. If officials have participated in my government who have betrayed my trust and committed acts of corruption, the Peruvian judicial system will determine their responsibility through due process.
As I’ve said again, I apologize to the country if I’ve made a mistake on some labels, but that shouldn’t concern the government as a whole. Since it never involved previous governments or allowed democracy to be undermined, it called for a presidential vacancy. I will cite a single example, the case of the so-called petroaudios. In this case, the judiciary acted against those involved, but not against the President, as then-prosecutor and now Republican Congresswoman Gladys Echaíz will recall.
I have to say to the country, the 9 million poor Peruvians, 55% of women affected by domestic violence, just over 40% of children still suffering from anemia, 12% of children still suffering from chronic malnutrition are suffering, the 8.5 million young Peruvians, the 2 million 200,000 compatriots of family farms, our working class, the outsourced workers still in precarious labor rights, our farming communities and patrols, fishermen, our teachers and professionals in general, the Entrepreneurs of our country, drivers, motorcycles, taxi drivers, our fellow residents of human settlements across the country who do not yet have property titles, all street vendors, and all citizens of all bloodlines for believing in this government and trusting me, my commitment standing firm and that I stand against all this adversity that makes me appear before the Congress of the Republic today for what to defend you voted in the elections.
I urge congressmen to act calmly and prudently and to seek spaces for dialogue and consensus in response to the recommendations of the OAS senior mission. I am calling you now because it is time to avoid further confrontations and tensions that shorten and postpone the main goal of all political actors: to serve and fulfill the social demands and to respect the will of the people.
It is up to us not to repeat the fateful chapter of November 2020 that, due to the ambitions of a few, blinded the lives of two courageous young people who sought respect for the voice of the people who continue to call for unity in their authorities.
Let’s think of the country, our people and their stability. Peru and the Peruvians cannot stop.
Finally, as far as my technical defense is concerned, it will be handled by my duly licensed attorneys.
Many Thanks.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter.