The death toll since the new political crisis broke out in Peru on December 7 has reached 45 dead (44 protesters, one policeman), according to the figures of the independent authority.
Thousands of people, mostly from southern provinces in the Andes, took part in a march on Thursday demanding the resignation of Peruvian President Dina Bolivarte in central Lima, where violent incidents broke out between participants in the mass mobilization and the heavy police force that had been deployed.
Earlier yesterday, clashes claimed the lives of two more people in the southern part of the country.
In Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city, clashes between protesters and police around the airport left one person, a man in his thirties, dead and around ten others injured, according to the Ombudsman, an independent authority responsible for the defense of human rights.
The Advocate also spoke of another death of a protester, who was injured yesterday Wednesday in Makusani, near Puno, on the border with Bolivia.
The death toll since the new political crisis broke out in Peru on December 7 has reached 45 dead (44 protesters, one policeman), according to the figures of the independent authority.
In Lima, most of the demonstration took place in an atmosphere of calm. But incidents broke out in the center, with protesters hurling stones, pieces of pavement, bottles and other objects at law enforcement, squads of whom charged at civilians with batons.
In several locations, police forces were forced to retreat, before retaking positions, especially in the center. Journalists found that there was extensive use of tear gas. An AFP correspondent saw at least two injured people and policemen proceeding to arrests.
A property in the center, near San Martin Square, the epicenter of the protests in Lima, caught fire from an as yet unknown cause last night around 20:00 (local time; 03:00 Greek time).
Yesterday morning, General Victor Sanabria, the head of the police in the Lima region, announced that “11,800 police officers were deployed to control the riots”, adding that in the operation it was decided “the participation of the army”.
“We are here to fight for a just cause. We want the parliament dissolved. They marginalize us, they say we are vandals, terrorists. We are here to claim our rights,” said Aida Aroni, who traveled to the capital from Ayacucho (south), speaking in the main square on May 2, wearing a traditional Andean costume, a Peruvian flag in her hands and a black armband, in a sign of mourning for the dozens of dead protesters.
🇵🇪 #NOW | While talking to the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, they are following the clashes in the streets of Lima. pic.twitter.com/DZlz8fgSx2
— Mundo en Conflicto 🌎 (@MundoEConflicto) January 20, 2023
“Let’s take Lima”
The protesters, who are also calling for new presidential and parliamentary elections to be held immediately, mean to “take” the capital.
“In Lima, the fight will have more weight. When we are beaten in our own areas, no one speaks,” said thirty-year-old Abdon Felix Flores Waman, adding that he is ready to “give his life.” He left for the capital on Sunday from Antavailas, the focus of mass mobilizations in December. It arrived on Tuesday.
Protesters also tried to occupy the airport of Cusco, Peru’s tourist capital.
“The struggle of the Peruvian people will not end tomorrow, the struggle will continue, if Dina Boluarte does not listen to the people and acts with arrogance,” Jeronimo Lopez, the general secretary of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (GSEP), warned yesterday Wednesday. who called for a strike.
The government on Sunday imposed a 30-day state of emergency in Lima, Cusco, Callao and Puno, a measure that allows the military to intervene to enforce order and suspends fundamental rights and freedoms, including those of assembly and movement. . But, the union leader stressed, the organizers of the mass mobilizations were not going to “ask for permission” from the authorities.
#BREAKING: Massive fire in downtown Lima, #Peru amid anti-government protests pic.twitter.com/u8t7vyPqOP
— RawNews1st (@Raw_News1st) January 20, 2023
The unrest erupted in Peru after the suspension, arrest and pretrial detention on December 7 of leftist former President Pedro Castillo, who was accused of attempting to stage a “coup” by ordering the dissolution of parliament, which was preparing to remove him from office.
The crisis once again highlights the huge gap between the political and economic elite of the capital and the poor provinces, where many supporters of former President Castillo saw his election victory as revenge for the elites’ contempt and racism towards especially the aborigines.
🇵🇪 #NOW | Lima, Peru. Grandes protestas contra el gobierno de Boluarte. Follow our updates. pic.twitter.com/tr6msacv6a
— Mundo en Conflicto 🌎 (@MundoEConflicto) January 20, 2023
On Monday, President Boluarte again appealed for “calm”: “We know they want to ‘take’ Lima (…) Those who want to take Lima, should do so in peace and calm,” she said.
Mrs. Boluarte, Mr. Castillo’s vice president until he succeeded him under the Constitution, is of Andean origin. He was elected with the party of the radical left whose candidate was Mr. Castillo. The protesters call her a “traitor”.
RES-EMP
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