The former Vice-President Dina Boluarte acknowledges lawmakers after she was sworn in as President at Congress in Lima, Peru on December 7, 2022. GUADALUPE PARDO AP LIMA - Peru's Congress swore in a new president on Wednesday after he was ousted from office in an impeachment trial hours after he tried to stay in power by trying to dissolve Congress.
The lawmakers moved ahead with a planned impeachment trial, with 101 votes in favor of removing him, six against and 10 abstaining Castillo, as well as defeating Castillo's attempt to shut down the legislature by decree.
The result was announced with loud cheers, and the legislature called Vice-President Dina Boluarte to take office.
Boluarte, 60 years old, was sworn in as president through 2026, making her the first woman to lead Peru. She called for a political truce after months of instability that have seen two previous impeachment attempts and said a new cabinet of all political stripes would be formed.
She lambasted Castillo's move to dissolve Congress as an attempted coup. Castillo was arrested on Wednesday night for allegedly violating the constitution's order, and was accused of a crime of rebellion.
Castillo had earlier said he would temporarily shut down Congress, start a government of exception, and call for new legislative elections.
He resigned from his ministers after accusations from both opposition politicians and his allies that he was attempting a coup. The police and armed forces warned that the route he had taken to try to dissolve Congress was unconstitutional and the police said they had intervened to fulfill their duties.
There were a few small street protests taking place. In Lima, dozens of people waving Peruvian flags cheered Castillo's downfall, while elsewhere in the capital and in the city of Arequipa his supporters marched and clashed with police. The Government Palace and Congress in Lima were surrounded by metal barricades and dozens of police officers with shields and plastic helmets.
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Peru has been going through years of political turmoil, with multiple leaders accused of corruption, frequent impeachment attempts, and presidential terms cut short.
In October, the prosecutor's office filed a constitutional complaint against Castillo for allegedly leading a criminal organization to profit from state contracts and obstructing investigations.
Castillo was summoned by Congress last week to respond to accusations of moral incapacity to govern.
Castillo has called the allegations slander by groups trying to take advantage and seize power that the people took from them at the polls. The 53-year-old leftist teacher-turned- president had survived two previous attempts to impeach him since he began his term in July 2021.
After Wednesday's attempt to dissolve Congress, his allies abandoned him and regional powers underlined the need for democratic stability.
The US ambassador for Peru, Lisa Kenna, wrote on Twitter that the US rejects any extra-constitutional act by President Castillo to prevent Congress from fulfilling its mandate.
READ MORE: Peru's PM resigns after Congress refuses to give a confidence vote.
The turmoil rattled markets in the world's No 2 copper producer, but analysts said the removal of Castillo, who has battled a hostile Congress since taking power, could be an eventual positive.
The financial markets of Peru will suffer, but won't collapse due to solid domestic fundamentals, said Andres Abadia, president of Pantheon Macroeconomics.