The governments of Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Bolivia supported the continuation of Pedro Castillo’s presidency in Peru despite the fact that he is under investigation for many crimes and is frequently threatened with impeachment.
In a unified statement, the nations reaffirmed their solidarity with the duly elected leadership. “We believe that achieving wide consensus will be a top priority for all (Peruvian) political actors.”
Left-wing Castillo, a former teacher and peasant farmer raised in a poor family in Peru’s rural Andes, came to power last year.
While his election spooked investors, Castillo has since moderated his stance, keeping technocrats in the key finance ministry. But he has cycled through many crises, including surviving two impeachment attempts and reshuffling his Cabinet many times.
He is also under six separate criminal investigations for, among other things, obstruction of justice in the firing of an interior minister. Opposition lawmakers have said they would like to launch a third impeachment attempt but acknowledge they do not have the votes to oust him.
Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia are led by left-wing governments that have supported Castillo in the past. Ecuador is led by center-right Guillermo Lasso.