Peru protests continue despite deaths
2023.01.19 12:14
Peru protests continue despite deaths
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – On Thursday, thousands of Peruvians, many of them from the country’s southern mining regions, descended on Lima, the capital, for a major planned march against Congress and the government. The march was sparked by over 50 deaths related to protests that have taken place since last month.
The violence is the worst that Peru has seen in over 20 years as many people in poorer rural areas lash out at Lima’s political elite over inequality and rising prices, putting the democratic institutions of the copper-rich Andean nation at risk.
Protesters want President Dina Boluarte to resign, fast-track new elections, get rid of Congress, and a new Constitution to replace the 1990s strongman leader Alberto Fujimori’s market-friendly one.
Thousands of people have traveled to the capital in buses and on foot, many carrying flags and banners demanding Boluarte’s resignation and criticizing the government and police for the deadly clashes in the southern cities of Juliaca and Ayacucho.
Julio Saldivar, a protester from Ayacucho, where a dozen people perished in December, stated, “We want Dina Boluarte to resign.”
On Thursday, thousands of police officers are anticipated to respond to a “Take Over Lima” protest planned by protesters. Scuffles started on Wednesday night, with protesters throwing rocks and police using tear gas to break up the crowds.
Domingo Cueva, a protester at the state University of San Marcos, stated, “We want to centralize our movement here in Lima, which is the heart of Peru, to see if they are moved.”
43 people, including a police officer, have been killed in clashes as a result of the protests, which were sparked by the dramatic demise of leftist former President Pedro Castillo on December 7 after he attempted to illegally shutter Congress and consolidate power. In related accidents, nine more people have died.
Political leaders have urged calm and increased police surveillance of Lima’s entryways. Some civil rights were restricted when the government last week extended the state of emergency in Lima, Puno, and Cusco in the south.
Interior Minister Vicente Romero stated to reporters, “We do not want more deaths, injuries, blood, or enough mourning for the families of Peru.”
Despite her determination not to resign, Boluarte has asked for “forgiveness” for the protest deaths.
Human rights groups have said that the army and police used deadly weapons during the protests. The protesters, according to the police, have used homemade explosives and weapons.
With banners calling Boluarte a “murderer” and the police and military killings “massacres,” the protest deaths have been the source of much of the anger.
We will never forget the suffering that the police caused in Juliaca. “We must fight, men, women, and children,” a protester traveling to Lima said without giving her name.
Cueva, a protester from Cusco, claimed that many people had attempted to attend the strike and protest on Thursday but had failed.
“Everywhere, we’ve seen an increase in repression. On the way, some leaders were stopped and prevented from passing,” he stated.
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