Dina Boluarte, the first female president of Peru to take office after the removal of Pedro Castillo

The until now vice president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, assumed the presidency of the South American country on Wednesday, after Congress approved the dismissal of Pedro Castillo, after he announced the dissolution of this chamber and the establishment of an “exception government .”

Boluarte becomes the first woman in the Presidency of the Republic of Peru and his term should be extended until 2026, when the current presidential term ends, unless he calls for early elections.

After Pedro Castillo announced this Wednesday his decision to dissolve Congress, Boluarte marked distances with the presidentand described what happened as an “unconstitutional act.”

“I reject Pedro Castillo’s decision to break the constitutional order with the closure of Congress. It is a coup d’état that aggravates the political and institutional crisis that Peruvian society will have to overcome with strict adherence to the law,” he wrote. on their social networks.

Shortly after Castillo was ousted and arrested, Boluarte was sworn in as president before the Peruvian Congress.

In his first message to the nation, rejected the “coup attempt” by Castillo which, he said, “has not found an echo in the institutions of democracy and in the street.”

“I request a political truce to install a government of national unity. This high responsibility must be assumed by everyone, “he assured.

“It is up to us to talk, dialogue, reach an agreement, something as simple as it is impracticable in recent months. I therefore call for a broad process of dialogue between all the political forces represented or not in Congress.”

Boluarte announced that his first measure is start a fight against corruption in state institutions for which he requested the support of the National Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office to “enter corrupt institutions without half measures.”

Dina Boluarte (Apurímac, 1962) won the 2021 general elections in the second round, in which she participated as a candidate for Castillo’s vice president for the Peru Libre party.

A lawyer by profession, she graduated from the Notarial and Registry Law master’s degree from the San Martín de Porres University. She has worked as an official in the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (Reniec) since 2007. She was also welfare director of the Lima Bar Association.

In the 2018 municipal elections, Boluarte participated as a candidate for mayor of Surquillo for the Peru Libertarian party. She but she only got only 2,040 votes and came in ninth.

In addition to the vice presidency, during the brief government of Pedro Castillo, Boluarte also held the position of Minister of Development and Social Inclusion.

The appointment of Dina Boluarte as the first female president of Peru constitutes, in the opinion of political scientist Gonzalo Banda, a historic milestone for the country, but unfortunately it occurs at a traumatic time. “It is not a very happy time for this important event to happen. It should have come at a less traumatic time.”narrowed.

In his opinion, Boluarte has the credentials to take office, despite not having much political experience. “Boluarte assumed the position of Minister of State for more than a year, a high-risk job because they do not usually last long. That time has allowed her to learn how politics is handled in Peru. Besides, she has greater leadership than Castillo and more political capabilities”.

However, he considers that Boluarte will not have it easy if he fails to win the support of the parties that have the majority in Congress. “We have a Parliament with a majority in opposition to the Peru Libre party. She needs the votes of congressmen with whom she has distanced herself and the rest of the forces to achieve some progress.”

Banda does not believe that the generalized crisis environment will end with this appointment, because investigations and questions could come about for having been part of the Castillo government. However, his arrival could be a political truce if Boluarte manages to form a plural cabinet.”

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