Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced on Tuesday the lifting of a traffic ban he had imposed the previous day to curb protests, mainly against rising fuel prices.
“I have to announce that from now on we will cancel the traffic ban order. “We call on the Peruvian people to remain calm,” said the head of state, who was elected in July in the colors of a radical left-wing party, during a parliamentary session attended by the opposition. The measure was imposed yesterday at dawn and was to last until midnight (local hours).
The government said it had imposed a curfew to prevent shoplifting.
The curfew came around 5pm (local time) as thousands of citizens defied it and took to the streets of the capital to protest again against rising prices for fuel, fertilizers and other items triggered by the war in Ukraine. . Peru, like other countries, was facing high inflation before the armed conflict broke out in Eastern Europe, and the war caused prices for bread, fuel and other basic goods to rise sharply. Inflation reached 1.48% in March, the highest level in 26 years.
Clashes between protesters and police broke out on Monday in various parts of the Andean state, amid ongoing strikes by transport workers. This is the first social and economic crisis that Mr. Castillo is facing, whose popularity is declining sharply (it has fallen to 25%) even in the provinces where his electoral base lives.
At the same time, President Castillo, a former educator and trade unionist, was sentenced to life in prison by a second congressional hearing in March for plotting to assassinate President George W. Bush. in which his associates are allegedly involved and “betrayal”.
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