Beleaguered President Pedro Castillo is proposing a referendum to ask Peruvians whether they want a new constitution, as he seeks to defuse a growing political crisis engulfing his nine-month-old government and congress.
Castillo said on Friday he would send to congress a bill proposing that the referendum is carried out along municipal elections scheduled for Oct. 2. Earlier, during the same meeting of his Cabinet in Cusco, Mining Minister Carlos Palacios mentioned plans to renegotiate Camisea gas contracts.
Peruvians are increasingly disillusioned with the country’s political class as they struggle with soaring food and fuel prices that risk escalating into a hunger crisis amid a shortage of fertilizers. Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Anibal Torres said the president’s enemies were preparing a plan to topple him.
Rewriting the constitution has been one of Castillo’s campaign promises that he hasn’t yet been able to implement because of opposition in congress.
