Legislators submit motion to impeach Peru President Dina Boluarte

The move underlines the severe polarisation in a country that has had six presidents in six years.

A group of left-wing politicians in Peru have submitted a motion of impeachment against President Dina Boluarte over her handling of nearly two months of protests following the removal of her predecessor Pedro Castillo.

Some 56 people have died amid violent confrontations between protesters and the security services.

The legislators, allies of Castillo, are filing the motion on the grounds of Boluarte’s alleged “permanent moral incapacity”, according to Al Jazeera’s Mariana Sanchez who is in the capital, Lima.

On Tuesday, thousands of people took to the streets of Lima, where they were met with volleys of tear gas and pellets just hours after Boluarte had called for a “truce”.

Peru was plunged into a renewed political crisis when Castillo, Peru’s first leader from a rural Andean background, tried to short-circuit the third impeachment proceedings facing his young administration by ordering Congress dissolved on December 7.

Legislators impeached Castillo instead and the national police arrested him before he could find sanctuary. Boluarte, who was his vice president, was sworn in.

Protests have been building since, with Castillo’s supporters demanding Boluarte’s resignation, immediate elections and the dissolution of Congress.

Sanchez said the legislators will need to secure the necessary votes to bring their impeachment motion for debate, which could take place on Thursday.

She noted that conservative politicians are in control of Congress and they support Boluarte.

“Peru has had six presidents in six years,” Sanchez said. “This shows just how deeply Peru is immersed in political instability.”