A hand out photo released by the Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, announced in a televised statement his decision to reshuffle his ministerial cabinet in Lima on February 4, 2022. ALDAIR MEJIA PARUVIAN PRESIDENCY AFP LIMA - Peruvian lawmakers from the ruling Peru Libre party presented a bill that would cut President Pedro Castillo's term from five to two years, with general elections set for 2023, an unprecedented setback from within his own ranks.
Castillo, a leftist former school teacher and union leader, has presided over unprecedented political instability since taking office last July, cycling through four separate cabinets and surviving two impeachment attempts in just nine months.
More than 60 percent of Peruvians want him to resign and call for general elections, according to polls. The presidential and Congressional terms are supposed to end in July 2026.
Under the proposal signed by Congress and Waldemar Cerron, the brother of Peru Libre President Vladimir Cerron- Castillo, would end both their terms in July 2023.
One way to escape this political crisis is by calling for new general elections, given the high and rising disapproval of the President and Congress. Peru Libre describes itself as a Marxist-Leninist party.
The bill was signed by eight Peru Libre lawmakers out of a bloc of 33 lawmakers. The unicameral Congress of Peru has 130 lawmakers.
Castillo has yet to address the bill, which comes as he is facing controversy again with a proposal to redraft the country's Constitution, a campaign promise that he would not act on.
Even current officials have hinted that cutting down Castillo's term would be a wise decision. Prime Minister Anibal Torres said earlier this year that the government had considered presenting a bill to call for early elections, even though the idea was dismissed.
Under Castillo, Peru's sol currency fell to record lows, although it bounced back. Business confidence has fallen as a result of occasional far-left gestures such as calling for nationalizing the country's gas industry.