Peru (MNN) — Peru’s president, Pedro Castillo, tried to dissolve congress on Wednesday. Lawmakers called the move an attempted coup.
A whirlwind day
Brian Dennett with AMG International says, “The Congress responded by holding an emergency meeting and voting overwhelmingly to impeach him. This caused several hours of chaos. People picked up their children early at school, and businesses and offices closed. There was a run on grocery stores, much like we saw during the pandemic.”
All eyes watched the police and military, wondering who they would support. Very quickly, they sided with the lawmakers. Dennett says, “As soon as the Congress announced his impeachment, the president slipped out the back of the palace, most likely trying to escape to the Mexican embassy. He was immediately stuck in traffic, apprehended by the police, and taken to jail.”
Castillo was replaced by Dina Boularte, the first woman to ever serve as Peru’s president.
Castillo had called for new parliamentary elections and a new constitution. He was only installed as Peru’s president in August of 2021. At the time, many hoped he could help Peru’s suffering lower classes.
AMG in Peru
AMG works with kids in Lima, providing school support. They also conduct church planting and pastoral training in villages throughout the Amazon region. Up in the mountains, AMG focuses on both education and church planting. Dennett says, “We have a strong presence in Peru. I have visited numerous times, and it is just a beautiful country with beautiful people. We really need to be praying for them during this time.”
As the government struggles, pray many Peruvians would find hope in Jesus. Pray also for less corruption in Peru’s government in the future.
The header photo shows Pedro Castillo while in office. (Photo courtesy of Presidencia de la República del Perú, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
