President Dina Bolluarte remains in power in Peru, where authorities said on Sunday that bloody protests and riots following the ouster and arrest of her predecessor Pedro Castillo on December 7 were de-escalating, while at the Vatican, Pope Francis was “praying” for an end. the violence.
President Dina Bolluarte remains in power in Peru, where authorities said on Sunday that bloody protests and riots following the ouster and arrest of her predecessor Pedro Castillo on December 7 were de-escalating, while at the Vatican, Pope Francis was “praying” for an end. the violence.
“The information we have is that the measures we took are bringing results (…) The violence of those protesting in the streets is decreasing,” Prime Minister Pedro Angulo said yesterday Sunday on a Peruvian television network.
Economy Minister Alex Contreras, for his part, said earlier Sunday on a Peruvian radio station that the country is “on a good path” to overcome the crisis caused by the dismissal of Pedro Castillo from his duties by a decision of the Congress, which he dominates the right, on December 7.
“What would my resignation solve? We will remain here, adamant, until Congress decides to expedite the elections (…) I ask that he reconsider the decision” he made in his vote on Friday, when he rejected the proposal to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2023 instead of 2026, said Mrs. Boluarte last Saturday.
In her speech, the ousted Vice President of Peru condemned the protests, in which at least 19 people have been killed and another 569 injured.
Many of the victims were minors.
Several protesters were killed in clashes with the army, which was ordered to intervene to restore internal security under a 30-day state of emergency.
“Only with calm and honest dialogue will we be able to work (…) How is it possible that we Peruvians get involved in battles with each other, destroy our institutions, block the roads?” asked the head of state.
“Political and social crisis”
The president, who was a candidate for vice-president of the same radical left party that brought Pedro Castillo to power, said the army was on the streets to “protect” the citizens because the situation was in danger of becoming “uncontrollable”. He spoke of the action of organized “violent groups”.
Yesterday Sunday, the head of the Roman Catholic Church said he was praying for “an end to the violence” in Peru and for a “dialogue to overcome the political and economic crisis” affecting the Andean nation.
The protesters demand the immediate release of Mr. Castillo, the resignation of Mrs. Boluarte, the dissolution of parliament and the immediate announcement of presidential and parliamentary elections.
The largest uprising is recorded in the Andes region of southern Peru, which is plagued by poverty. Social claims there remain unsatisfied for decades.
Ms. Boluarte, who hails from Apurimac, which became the scene of the most violent incidents, delivered part of her speech in Quechua, the language spoken by a large part of the population in the Andes.
There were protests against Mr Castillo when the former president tried to dissolve Congress on December 7 and call parliamentary elections, making it clear he would rule by decree in the meantime — before being suspended by parliament in the third attempt after seventeen months of remained in power.
Opponents of Mr. Castillo saw the former president’s decisions as an attempted “coup”; supporters of the former president inside and outside the country are returning the accusation to its senders.
The former teacher and trade unionist from the province, “the first poor man” to take over the presidency of Peru, was arrested by his bodyguards as he tried to flee to the Mexican embassy to seek asylum.
After initially remanding him for seven days, the High Court ruled on Thursday that he must remain in jail for a further 18 months, until June 2024, while he is investigated for “stance” and “conspiracy”.
He faces up to ten years in prison, according to prosecutor Alcides Dias, who is handling the case.
200 tourists leave
About 200 tourists stranded at the Machu Picchu archaeological site due to mass protests and riots were finally able to leave last Saturday, AFP has learned.
By train, they arrived near the city of Piscacutso, in the district of Cusco (south), where a huge rock blocked the passage. From there, the tourists, among them North Americans and Europeans, walked about two kilometers to board buses and be transported to the city of Cusco, where an international airport operates.
The mayor of a village near Machu Picchu, Darwin Vaca, had told AFP that “5,000 tourists” were stranded in the Cusco region.
The airport of Cusco, the tourist capital of the Andean country, reopens from noon on Friday.
RES-EMP
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