On Thursday, Peruvian opposition lawmakers submitted a bill to Congress calling for the removal of left-wing President Pedro Castillo. These lawmakers are the party of right-wing presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, who narrowly lost to Castillo in this year's presidential election.
The bill, signed by 28 lawmakers, will be voted on in Congress, but the time of vote has not yet been determined. 52 of the 130 votes are needed to start impeachment proceedings, and 87 votes are needed to oust Castillo.
Castillo responded that he was calm and not worried about political noise.
Castillo came to power in July this year, but public support has fallen, including his Liberal Peruvian Party. Castillo has said many times during the campaign that Peru is in a serious gap between the rich and the poor, which was created by the previous ruling government, and he promised to increase taxes on mining and oil companies. and use the money to invest in education and health.
After Castillo came to power, a series of mining protests and scandals hit the left-wing government. Anti-corruption prosecutors have begun an investigation into Pacheco, a presidential adviser, and found $20, 000 in cash in the bathroom of Pacheco's government office on Sucker Punch. Although Pacheco denied wrongdoing, he resigned last week.
Although impeachment has not yet been supported, it is enough to put pressure on the Castillo government. The Peruvian Congress usually leans to the right and has a history of impeaching the president many times.
Peru, the world's second-largest copper producer, has had five presidents since 2016.
For the mining giants, the ouster of Castillo is likely to be a boon. Previously, mining companies and investors feared that the Castillo government would adopt a radical policy of imposing heavy taxes on the mining industry, resulting in stagnant copper production.
