Peru president urges Congress to approve early elections

Peru's caretaker president Dina Boluarte chastised lawmakers for not endorsing widespread calls for early elections as a way out of a deepening political crisis triggered when ousted leader Pedro Castillo tried to shut down Congress.

Boluarte pushed back against calls from some demonstrators that she resign. She argued that such a move wouldn't resolve the urgent problems facing Peru's countryside, such as the worst drought in a half-century, and only plunge the country deeper into chaos. 

Instead, she slammed Congress, which on Friday failed to muster enough votes to approve her proposal for a constitutional amendment that would've pushed up elections, initially scheduled for 2026, to December 2023. She called on lawmakers to reconsider their position, citing opinion polls that more than 80% of Peruvians want general elections to stabilize the country.