Dina Boluarte sworn in as Peru's president following Pedro Castillo's impeachment

After ex-president Pedro Castillo was impeached a few hours after attempting to dissolve parliament, Peru has a female president for the first time.

After a dramatic day in Lima on Wednesday, Dina Boluarte, the former vice-president, took the oath of office.

Mr. Castillo had earlier in the day said that he would replace Congress with an "extraordinary emergency administration."

However, lawmakers disregarded this and impeached him in a special session. After being imprisoned, he was given a rebellion charge.

He was on his way to the Mexican embassy in the nation's capital, according to reports in the local media.

The 60-year-old lawyer Ms. Boluarte declared she would serve as president until July 2026, which would have been the conclusion of Mr. Castillo's term.

After taking the oath of office, she spoke and asked for a political truce to end the nation's current problem.

"What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country," she said.

President Pedro Castillo gave a speech on national television on Wednesday in which he declared a state of emergency, which set off a series of dramatic events.

He made the shocking announcement that he would dissolve the opposition-controlled Congress, which resulted in the resignation of several ministers both domestically and internationally.

He was charged with plotting a coup d'état by the head of the constitutional court, and the US "seriously lobbied" Mr. Castillo to change his mind.

In a unified statement, Peru's police and armed forces declared their respect for the legal system.

Just hours before the House of Representatives was to begin the third round of impeachment proceedings against Mr. Castillo since he took office in July 2021, Mr. Castillo attempted to dissolve the body.

In his televised address he said: "In response to citizens' demands throughout the length and breadth of the country, we have decided to establish an exceptional government aimed at re-establishing the rule of law and democracy."

He said that "a new Congress with constituent powers to draw up a new constitution" would be convened "within no more than nine months".

However, the impeachment vote that Mr. Castillo had been attempting to stop was held after an emergency session of Congress, which is controlled by parties opposed to Mr. Castillo, was called.

101 people voted in favour of impeaching him, with only six voting against him and 10 abstaining.

Following the impeachment, Mr. Castillo was spotted at a police station.

He could be seen sitting and conversing with others in the pictures, which the police released on Twitter before deleting them. Then, a video of Mr. Castillo signing documents with the prosecution was made public.

He was then taken into custody and charged with rebellion for flouting the law.

Peru has experienced turbulent political times recently, with several presidents being removed from power. In the course of five days in 2020, it had three presidents.

In a contentious election in June 2021, Mr. Castillo, a left-leaning former teacher, defeated his right-leaning opponent Keiko Fujimori.

He had recently fought claims of corruption, which he claimed were a part of an attempt to have him removed from office.

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