Welcome back to the Latin America Weekly newsletter! In this issue: Pedro Castillo’s moment of truth. And the presidential landscape in Chile.
Our mistake: A previous version of this newsletter contained mistakes in the chart of Chilean presidential polls. We apologize.
Castillo cabinet faces crucial vote of confidence in Peru
The new left-wing Peruvian government of President Pedro Castillo is braced for a key congressional vote tomorrow to decide whether the Council of Ministers led by Guido Bellido will continue in office. Mr. Bellido has been on the defensive since his appointment as head of the cabinet, due to his close ties to Vladimir Cerrón, the leader of the Marxist Perú Libre party, which has stoked a strong anti-communist reaction led by hard-right presidential runner up Keiko Fujimori.
The process. Peru’s Constitution establishes a 30-day window for the Executive to secure a congressional majority that backs its cabinet. If a simple majority cannot be reached, Mr. Castillo will be forced to pick a new team of ministers following the same procedure.
- If the cabinet fails to gain support at the second time of asking, the president may choose to dissolve parliament and call for new congressional elections.
A close precedent....