Castillo had been summoned to Congress to respond to accusations of “permanent moral incapacity” to govern, in the midst of several investigations by the prosecution of alleged corruption.
To expel Castillo, 87 votes were needed, corresponding to two-thirds of the 130 members of Congress.
The United States had rejected any unconstitutional act by Castillo to prevent Congress from fulfilling its mandate, the US ambassador to the Andean country, Lisa Kenna, said on Twitter on Wednesday.
Castillo, a leftist leader who took power in July 2021, had announced a government of “exception” at the same time that it would convene legislative elections in the shortest possible time, with constituent powers, to prepare a new Constitution within a period of no more than nine months.
The president also announced the reorganization of the Judiciary, the prosecutor’s office and the Constitutional Court, and said that during the “interregnum” period due to the closure of Congress, the country’s current economic model will be respected.
Three decades ago, former president Alberto Fujimori, currently in prison for human rights abuses and corruption, also ordered the dissolution of Congress, with similar measures regarding the judicial system.