Unrest in Peru may drag on for long time
2023.01.10 12:33
Unrest in Peru may drag on for long time
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – Protest leaders in the mining region of the south of Peru have declared that they are prepared for an “endless battle” against the government, threatening to destabilize the deeply divided Andean nation following the deadly protests against the removal of former leftist President Pedro Castillo.
The worst day of violence since Castillo’s dramatic removal on December 7 saw the deaths of 17 protesters in the southern province of Puno. A total of 39 protesters and seven others were killed in related accidents.
Protest leaders told Reuters that the anger in the south of the Andes is likely to get worse, which is a big risk for businesses in the world’s no. 2nd producer, home to major mines like Las Bambas operated by MMG Ltd. and Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:) Cerro Verde is it.
Before the clashes on Monday, Edgar Chura, the leader of the Puno Defense Front protest group, stated, “This is an endless battle.” Other protest leaders who spoke with Reuters shared this opinion.
He stated that rewriting the 1990s-era, market-friendly constitution that conservative President Alberto Fujimori dubbed “an enemy of the people economically and politically” was a major demand from the southern regions.
The protests, which were sparked by Castillo’s removal and arrest after he illegally tried to shut down Congress to avoid an impeachment vote, have focused on new President Dina Boluarte and the widely resented legislature, which is regarded as corrupt and interested only in its own interests.
This year’s new elections, the removal of Congress, and a new constitution are the goals of protesters. Boluarte, Peru’s first female president and Castillo’s deputy, has offered elections two years early in early 2024 to appease protesters. However, she asserts that many of their demands are unmet.
As protests subsided in recent weeks, in part due to the holiday season, Boluarte, who is from a small town and speaks both Spanish and the indigenous Andean language Quechua, appeared to have some control over the situation.
Her administration, however, is now under renewed pressure due to the new outbreak of violence. It is caught between a hostile Congress and irate rural voters who believed Castillo, despite his flaws, was their representative against the traditional political elite because he was a former teacher and the son of peasant farmers.
According to Jeffrey Radzinsky, director of the political consulting firm Grupo Fides Peru, “in the south he always had support and approval, so there is a sector that genuinely feels that they have removed the politician who represented them.”
Castillo’s unexpected rise to power in 2021, when Boluarte was his vice presidential candidate, was largely driven by the poor, copper-rich south of Peru.
Castillo gained support by promising to amend the constitution to empower marginalized indigenous groups and distribute more of the country’s copper wealth. However, he was largely unsuccessful amid protests, allegations of corruption, and Cabinet reshuffles that included over 80 ministers in just 17 months.
However, his arrest has energized his support base and obscured his flaws, igniting popular resentment toward the political elite, whom many attribute for the wide gap in wealth between Lima, the wealthy coastal capital, and the inland provinces.
“The people of Peru do not wish for this Congress. At a recent demonstration in the southern region of Ica, protester Antonio Choque said, “We don’t want newly appointed president Dina Boluarte.” He blamed conservatives for the removal of Castillo.
“We want a new constitution, the closure of Congress, and her immediate resignation.”
According to a recent poll conducted by Ipsos Peru, Boluarte has a low popularity rating of 21%—similar to Castillo’s prior to his removal—but Congress’ support is ever-lower, at just 13%.
According to Prime Minister Alberto Otarola, “dark money” and foreign interests attempting to destabilize Peru are behind the protests. He promised new security measures to restore order and stated that the clashes on Monday left 75 police officers injured.
In the meantime, protest leaders assert that the government’s proposal to move elections forward to April 2024 is insufficient.
According to Jose Luis Chapa, a worker’s union official and leader of a protest in Arequipa, the government must hold new elections this year if it wants to talk to people.
The mining region protest leader stated, “The agreement is not to talk with anyone from the government, least of all Dina Boluarte,” and added that protests would be “staggered” throughout the south. Others are thinking about possible marches to Lima, the capital.
Roco Leandro, the leader of the Ayacucho Defense Front protest group, stated that the protest deaths had intensified anger toward the government and urged Boluarte to step down so that a transitional government could be established in Ayacucho, which experienced the worst violence in December.
“Despite the fact that they bring deadly weapons that have killed our brothers, we have no fear. He stated, “We are organizing ourselves, and we will continue.”
