<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Peru has a female president for the first time, after ex-president Pedro Castillo was impeached - hours after he tried to dissolve parliament.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dina Boluarte - previously the vice-president - was sworn in after a dramatic day in Lima on Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier in the day, Mr Castillo had said he was replacing Congress with an "exceptional emergency government".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But lawmakers ignored this, and in an emergency meeting impeached him. He was then detained and accused of rebellion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ms Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer, said she would govern until July 2026, which is when Mr Castillo's presidency would have ended.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking after taking the oath of office, she called for a political truce to overcome the crisis which has gripped the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Pedro Castillo: The primary school teacher who became Peru's president&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Wednesday's dramatic chain of events began with President Pedro Castillo giving an address on national television in which he declared a state of emergency.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He announced that he would dissolve the opposition-controlled Congress, a move which was met with shock both in Peru - several ministers resigned in protest - and abroad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The head of the constitutional court accused him of launching a coup d'etat, while the US "strongly urged" Mr Castillo to reverse his decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Peru's police and armed forces released a joint statement in which they said they respected the constitutional order.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Castillo tried to dissolve Congress just hours before it was due to start fresh impeachment proceedings against him - the third since he came to office in July 2021.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said that "a new Congress with constituent powers to draw up a new constitution" would be convened "within no more than nine months".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Congress, which is controlled by parties opposed to Mr Castillo, convened an emergency session and held the impeachment vote Mr Castillo had been trying to prevent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The result was overwhelming: 101 voted in favour of impeaching him, with only six against and 10 abstentions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the impeachment, Castillo was seen on police premises.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the photos - which were shared by police on Twitter but subsequently deleted - he could be seen sitting, seemingly relaxed, and chatting to others. Footage was then released of Mr Castillo signing papers with prosecutors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He was later detained and accused of rebellion for breaking the constitutional order.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ousted President Pedro Castillo (left) appears before anti-corruption prosecutors</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Peru has been going through a rocky political period, with multiple presidents ousted from office in recent years. In 2020, it had three presidents within the space of five days.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Castillo, who is a left-wing former school teacher, was elected in June 2021 in a polarising election in which he defeated his right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He had recently been fighting allegations of corruption, which he said were part of a plot to oust him. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>