Resumed a week ago after a truce at the turn of the year, acts in favor of ousted president Pedro Castillo show no sign of weakening in Peru. This Thursday (12), roadblocks were reported in 10 of the 25 regions of the country, and thousands took to the streets of Lima, inflated by the violence of clashes between demonstrators and security forces —the Peruvian Public Defender estimates that 49 people have died in the protests since their inception, just over a month ago.
In the capital, the crowd carried portraits of the victims and cardboard coffins, calling for justice for the dead and punishment for those responsible while calling the current president, Dina Boluarte, a murderer. A former vice-president of Castillo, she assumed the presidency when he was overthrown and is considered a traitor by the populist leader’s followers, who are demanding his resignation and early elections.
Protesters also call for the closure of Congress and the convening of a Constituent Assembly to replace the current Magna Carta, enacted in 1993 by then dictator Alberto Fujimori and seen by Castillo supporters as one of the factors responsible for socioeconomic inequality in the country.
The march, organized by unions and peasant groups from the Peruvian Andes —the epicenter of the protests and the region where Castillo’s electorate was concentrated in past elections—, passed without incident. The same did not occur in the city of Cusco, which serves as a base for visits to the archaeological site of Machu Picchu, the main tourist destination in the country.
A protest on Wednesday night (11) ended with more than 50 injured, including 19 security agents, and demonstrators threw stones at the Marriott hotel. The international airport was closed to prevent it from being taken over by protesters – which has occurred even after the establishment of a state of emergency in the country. And the train service between the capital and Machu Picchu has been suspended until further notice.
Blockades were still registered in the regions of Arequipa, Madre de Dios, Tacna and Puno. The last one began the burial of the 19 people who died as a result of the clashes on Monday (9), when the record of deaths in acts until now was recorded. One of the victims was 16 years old, and another, a police officer, died of burns after demonstrators set fire to his car.
The prolongation of the social upheaval led yet another minister of Dina to resign. At the head of the Labor portfolio, Eduardo García joined his colleagues in Education and Culture who had left their posts in mid-December.
Earlier this week, the Peruvian Public Ministry opened a preliminary investigation into several authorities, including President Dina Boluarte and Prime Minister Alberto Otárola, suspected of having committed the crimes of genocide, qualified homicide and serious injuries in the repression of protests.
Earlier on Thursday, Otárola stated that Dina will not resign, “not because she doesn’t want to”, but due to constitutional requirements. “Leaving the Presidency would open a very dangerous gap to anarchy and disorder,” he said.
Without providing evidence, he also accused the demonstrations on Thursday of being part of an attempted coup d’état allegedly orchestrated by Castillo and financed by drug trafficking. And he said that, in an eventual attempt to seize power, the security forces would defend the current government.
Peru has been immersed in a social upheaval since December 7, when Castillo failed in a coup attempt after ordering the dissolution of Parliament, bringing forward elections and decreeing a state of exception. He was eventually impeached by Congress and sentenced to 18 months in pre-trial detention, charged with rebellion and conspiracy.
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