Peru: Is Pedro Castillo facing a coup without even having assumed the Presidency?

Different social sectors and left-wing political parties in Peru called for a national strike to demand the proclamation of the candidate Pedro Castillo and reject what they consider to be an attempted coup by Fujimori, one month after the second electoral round where the leader union came out first.

The National Front for Democracy and Governance called, through its Facebook account, for mobilizations throughout the country. In these street actions, the participation of trade unions, workers unions, groups, civil associations and political movements, among others, is expected.

Although there are already official results of the elections, in which Castillo obtained a 44,000-vote lead over the right-wing Keiko Fujimori, there is still no proclaimed president. Currently, several instances of the Electoral Power are analyzing the files with appeals presented mostly by the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori. So far they have all been discarded.

A national strike for Peru

Although the sympathizers of each candidate have held demonstrations mainly in Lima, a Fujimori electoral stronghold, to demand the proclamation of the new president, this call for a strike not only includes the capital, describes journalist Natali Gómez in an RT report.

Castillo won the majority of votes in the Andes region, where mining and agricultural activities are carried out, and in the south of the country, where Cusco is located, the department with the highest poverty rate in the country, where he (Castillo) won with an ample margin and obtained more than 83% of the vote.

In several communiqués, the National Front for Democracy and Governance affirms that it asks for this mobilization because «Fujimorism and its allies continue their attempts to carry out the coup and ignore the popular will».

The strategy that the right would use, according to those calling to protest, is based on the forthcoming election of the new magistrates of the Constitutional Court, which would be made up of people «related to Fujimori» as part of «an openly questioned and hasty selection process», according to the Front.

The Peruvian Parliament, whose term ended last June, admitted an extraordinary extension of its legislature until July to approve several «express» constitutional reforms and comply with those pending from the previous Congress, with a Fujimori majority, which was dissolved in 2019 by former President Martín Vizcarra. All this before the new Legislative Assembly (2021-2026) is installed, on July 27, one day before the new president takes office.

«Fujimontesinist coup»

In the opinion of those who support Castillo, if elected, the right-wing magistrates would «capture» the Constitutional Court «to serve their interests and carry out a coup», which they have called «fujimontesinista», due to the union of the surnames of Fujimori and Montesinos.

In recent days, the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office announced that it would investigate a series of audios where Vladimiro Montesinos, former adviser to the former President Alberto Fujimori, spoke of conspiring and paying millionaire bribes so that the right-wing candidate, Keiko Fujimori, was declared the winner in the recent elections.

«A coup d’état is being cooked from the Naval Base [where Montesinos is being detained for kidnapping, homicide, forced disappearance, arms trafficking and illicit association] and the Congress», said the Front.

Those who call for a stoppage of activities also assure that «the strategies of Fujimori to save its candidate have been dismantled by experts and by the National Elections Jury (JNE)», who have declared all the appeals presented by the team of the former congresswoman.

«The JNE must resolve the pending appeals as quickly as possible and immediately proclaim Professor Castillo as president», says one of the Front’s texts.

Keiko is again in ‘suspense’

Despite the fact that Keiko Fujimori has used a post-electoral strategy to maneuver and delay the appointment of the new president, her path has not been without setbacks.

On this occasion, a new investigation for alleged money laundering and irregular financing of her 2021 presidential campaign was opened against her, as announced by José Domingo Pérez, prosecutor for the Lava Jato team in Peru, after the publication of Montesinos’ audios. These «preliminary proceedings» are expected to run for 36 months.

According to Pérez, the Fuerza Popular party would have captured «assets of illicit origin», for which it would incur into the crimes of money laundering in the modalities of conversion and transfer and concealment and possession.

In response, Fujimori published a series of tweets in which she asserts that «Pérez launches a new show» with a «desire to be in the limelight» and that he summons Montesinos «to ensure dissemination (So it’s made public) and coverage». «He involves me through conversations with people who have no relationship with me», she added.

Faced with this new investigation against her, she reported that she will request the Public Ministry to exclude the prosecutor from the case «to prevent his obvious bias from distorting this investigation».

Previously, Pérez had requested the revocation of the restrictions on Fujimori to impose preventive detention in the framework of the investigation that is being followed for money laundering during her 2011 and 2016 campaigns. This request was rejected by a Peruvian jury as unfounded.