Pedro Castillo

José Pedro Castillo Terrones is a Peruvian politician, union leader, and former primary school teacher from the rural Cajamarca region. He rose to national prominence as a leader of the 2017 teachers' strike before running for president in 2021 as the candidate of Perú Libre, a Marxist-leaning party led by Vladimir Cerrón.

Castillo narrowly defeated right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori in the June 2021 runoff, taking office on 28 July 2021—the bicentennial of Peruvian independence. His campaign emphasized constitutional rewrite, resource nationalism, and the slogan "no más pobres en un país rico" ("no more poor people in a rich country").

His presidency was marked by extreme instability. Castillo cycled through more than 70 cabinet ministers in 17 months and faced two impeachment attempts on grounds of "permanent moral incapacity" under Article 113 of the Peruvian Constitution. Multiple corruption investigations targeted him, his family, and close associates.

On 7 December 2022, hours before a third impeachment vote, Castillo announced via televised address that he would dissolve Congress, install an emergency government, and rule by decree. The move was widely condemned as an attempted autogolpe (self-coup). His own cabinet resigned, the armed forces and police refused to back him, and Congress voted to remove him the same day. He was arrested while reportedly attempting to reach the Mexican embassy. Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn in as his successor.

Castillo has remained in pre-trial detention at the Barbadillo prison facility, which also holds former presidents Alberto Fujimori and Alejandro Toledo. He faces charges including rebellion, conspiracy, and abuse of authority. His removal triggered sustained protests, particularly in the southern Andean regions, resulting in dozens of deaths during the Boluarte government's security response in late 2022 and early 2023.