Unless he escapes, Pedro Castillo has no way to leave his confinement in the near future. As a result of his incompetent coup, he has an effective prison sentence of more than 11 years for conspiracy to rebellion that still has a long way to go. And for the “Puente Tarata” case, more associated with his alleged participation in a criminal organization, he faces preventive detention that extends until March of next year. Now, for months, there has been speculation in public opinion about the possibility that Balcázar will grant him a pardon regarding the first issue. But that possibility clashes with some ungrateful elements of reality. First, the sentence – which is at first instance – would have to be accepted and not appealed, as it actually is. A sentence cannot be simultaneously accepted and appealed, just as the chicken in his famous Buddhist parable could not be alive and dead at the same time.
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Furthermore, to grant the pardon, the individual currently wearing the presidential sash would have to have a prior report from the presidential pardon commission – a requirement whose result does not commit him, but which cannot be omitted and which, so far, has not been fulfilled – and the signature of the Minister of Justice: a detail to which the current head of that ministry resists. Meanwhile, by the path of presidential grace, things do not look better. This can only be granted when the deadlines of a legal process exceed limits that, as far as Castillo is concerned, have not been exceeded. So, as funny as he may feel, under the current circumstances, Balcázar simply cannot appeal to that resource. If not, he should ask Hegel.
–Bridge too far–
On the other hand, even if the precarious occupant of the Palace could magically overcome all these problems and grant the pardon to his darling, he would remain imprisoned, since the aforementioned preventive detention order for the “Puente Tarata” case can only be lifted by the Judiciary, not by the president. Finally, the unexplored constitutional routes to achieve the freedom of the Chota coup plotter that former candidate Jorge Nieto has spoken to the future head of the Executive, Keiko Fujimori, simply do not exist. Changes to the rules governing preventive detention would have to be made by the Legislature, which, as is known, is a different branch of government. Additionally, the fact that our unfortunate former president was on his way to the Mexican embassy when he was arrested on December 7, 2022, suggests a certain flight risk that would make it inadvisable to lift his detention. The other former governors serving time in Fundo Barbadillo, consequently, could sing to the professor that chant of “and he doesn’t leave…” that is heard in stadiums when fans do not want a player to leave the field.
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Having exhausted the arguments of there being no way to get Castillo out of jail, it is finally worth also visiting those of there being no reason to. And one of the most used by those who propose doing so to “pacify the country” is the one that holds that many of our compatriots mistakenly believe that he was the victim and not the author of the coup that ended his presidency. What they suggest, then, is basically something like giving reason to the madman to calm him down… Hopefully Mrs. Fujimori understands that acceding to those requests once she is installed in the Pizarro house would not be perceived as a gesture, but as a grimace.
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