Rejecting Allegations By Peru Attorney General, President Bouarte: Disgraceful Political Manuver

Peru President Dina Bouarte. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministerio de Defensa del Permen)

JAKARTA - Peru's president rejected an official complaint against him filed Monday by the Attorney General, considering it a "discriminate" in his brief public statement, the latest allegations of deadly social unrest a year ago.

Dina Boluarte occupied the seat of President of Peru last December, following the controversial overthrow and imprisonment of his predecessor, Pedro Castillo, describing constitutional complaints issued by Attorney General Patricia Benavides as "herding".

"We come under fire for the inappropriate political maneuvers, using the memories of the dead patriots to distract from a very serious complaint against the prosecutor himself," President Bouarte said, referring to allegations of corruption leveled against Attorney General Benavides. November 28.

The overthrow of former President Castillo plunged Andean into angry protests, sometimes accompanied by weeks of violence that claimed at least 40 lives while hundreds others suffered injuries.

President Bouarte previously served as deputy of Castillo, who was fielded after unlawfully seeking to dissolve Congress ahead of the vote, which lawmakers planned to fire him.

Earlier on Monday, Attorney General Benavides announced the complaint after a nearly-a-year investigation into his televised address.

He also rejected an investigation into him, which he said aims to "trick the independence of countries" in the volatile political conditions of the South American country.

The Attorney General's Office first announced in January that it was launching an investigation into Boluarte and its cabinet members on charges of genocide, certified murder and serious injury.

If Congress accepts the Attorney General's complaint, this could cause President Bouarte to be removed from his post.

"The deaths of any Peruvian should not be tolerated, nor should the abuse of power," said Attorney General Benavides, whose complaint mentions six specific victims.

However, several anti-corruption prosecutors within the Attorney General's Office also called for the resignation of Benavides on Monday.

Meanwhile, approval of President Bouarte fell to its lowest level to date in a poll published last weekend, which was only 8 percent, while his disapproval reached 85 percent, according to an IEP survey.