2022 Peruvian self-coup attempt

The attempted self-coup of the State of Peru was an attempt to break the constitutional order carried out on 7 December 2022 by then President Pedro Castillo, who, in view of the declarations of Salatiel Marrufo (former head of advisors of the Ministry of Housing) made before the Congressional Oversight Commission on the alleged delivery of 50 thousand soles per month to Castillo to keep Geiner Alvarado in the position of Minister of Housing and the imminent third impeachment process against him to be debated that day for alleged acts of corruption and scandals that directly involved him and his entourage, addressed the nation in a televised message in which he announced the dissolution of the Congress of the Republic; the intervention of the Judiciary, the Public Ministry, the National Board of Justice and the Constitutional Court; in addition to the call for elections for a congress with constituent powers and a nationwide curfew.

However, Castillo's decision to dissolve Congress led to a wave of resignations from his government. The Peruvian Armed Forces also declined to support his actions. On the same day, Castillo was removed and ceased to be president after the Constitutional Court rejected his dissolution of Congress. Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn in as the new president later that day. In the aftermath of Castillo's removal, his supporters initiated nationwide protests demanding his release and Boluarte's resignation. The Boluarte government responded by declaring a national state of emergency on 14 December, massacring protesters, and suspending some constitutional protections for 30 days. Castillo was subsequently placed in pre-trial detention for 18 months on charges of rebellion and conspiracy, with an additional 36 months of detention for alleged corruption during his administration.

In a controversial move, the Constitutional Court, whose members were elected by Congress in a questionable manner, removed judicial oversight from Congress, effectively granting the legislative body absolute control over the government. Castillo maintained that two contentious votes of confidence between his former Prime Minister Aníbal Torres and Congress provided a legal basis for dissolving the legislative body. However, this claim was disputed by a Constitutional Court ruling, which stated that only Congress could interpret whether a motion of confidence had occurred, thereby consolidating more power in the hands of Congress. This event was widely characterized as an attempted coup d'état by Peruvian politicians, the Constitutional Court, Peruvian media, and some international news organizations, drawing comparisons to the autogolpe of Alberto Fujimori during the 1992 Peruvian self-coup d'état.

Representatives of many foreign countries, including Spain, United States, Brazil, Uruguay and the secretary-general of the Organization of American States rejected Castillo's actions and described them as an attempt to break the constitutional order. According to an Institute of Peruvian Studies poll, 53% of respondents disagreed with his attempt to dissolve Congress, while 44% of participants agreed. Supporters of Castillo said that a soft coup was perpetrated by Congress against him. Some governments of Latin America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras and Mexico, responded to the crisis by refusing to recognize the Boluarte government and viewing Castillo as president. Castillo has also continued to consider himself as the legal president of Peru.