Peru's President ousted and charged

By James Blears

Peru's President, Pedro Castillo, has been removed by Congress by a vote of 101-6, with ten abstentions. He was going to dissolve Congress, impose a nightly curfew and form an emergency Administration.

But they beat him to the political punch, so he is down for the count and out.

Four Ministers, including the Foreign Secretary and the Economy Secretary, had resigned, which significantly weakened his tenure of power.

Arrest

Now, Castillo has been arrested and charged with rebellion. Castillo, who re-shuffled his Cabinet five times during his year and a half in office, does not appear to be holding many significant cards.

Attempting to use his get-out-of-jail-free card, he concedes he hass made mistakes but claims there was a concerted campaign of conspiracy against him, in part due to his humble origins as a peasant farmer turned teacher. 

He has been replaced by Vice President Dina Boluarte, who has already been sworn into the top job, as Peru's first woman President.

She is appealing for calm and unity, saying: "What I'm asking for is space and time to rescue the country."