Police try to disperse supporters of ousted President Pedro Castillo at San Martin square in Lima, Peru, Sunday, December 11, 2022.
Martin Mejia/AP
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Martin Mejia/AP
Police try to disperse supporters of ousted President Pedro Castillo at San Martin square in Lima, Peru, Sunday, December 11, 2022.
Martin Mejia/AP
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s newest President, Dina Boluarte, responded to protesters’ demands early Monday morning, announcing in a nationally televised address that she would send National Assembly a proposal to expedite the election.
Boluarte’s decision comes after thousands of protesters took to the streets around Peru for another Sunday to demand her resignation and to schedule elections to replace her and the National Assembly. The protests have turned deadly, with at least two deaths reported in a remote community in the Andes, according to officials.
Boluarte said she would propose a general election schedule for April 2024.
Many of the protesters during the ongoing political crisis are demanding the release of Pedro Castillo, the centre-left president ousted by lawmakers on Wednesday after he sought to dissolve Parliament. before an impeachment vote.
Hundreds of people also protested in the capital, Lima, where riot police used tear gas to push back protesters.
The protests that rocked Peru heat up especially in the countryside, stronghold of Castillo, a former teacher and political newcomer from a poor Andean mountain district. Protesters set fire to a police station, vandalized a small airport used by the armed forces and marched in the streets.
Congresswoman Maria Taipe Coronado said a 15-year-old boy had died of his injuries during a protest in the remote Andahuaylas community of the Andes as she issued an urgent plea from the legislative palace demanding Boluarte’s resignation. .
“The death of this countryman is Dina’s responsibility for not submitting her resignation,” said Taipe, whose party links helped Castillo and Boluarte get elected last year as president and vice president. before both were fired from their posts. of that party. “Since when is protest a crime?”
Taipe alleges that the authorities are using heavy-handed repressive tactics to quell the protests. But it remains unclear how badly the boy was injured, and state media reported a second death in the same community without giving details.
Anthony Gutiérrez, the director of a local hospital, told a radio station that the second protester killed was an 18-year-old man. At least 26 people were also reported injured.
Boluarte, 60, was quickly sworn in midweek to replace Castillo, hours after he stunned the nation by ordering the dissolution of Congress, thereby sacking him for “religious incompetence” eternal virtue”. Castillo was arrested for sedition.
Castillo’s failed move against the opposition-led Congress comes hours before lawmakers prepare to begin a third impeachment effort against him.
Scattered protests across the country continued for days.
On Saturday in Andahuaylas, 16 people were treated for concussions at the hospital, and one of them was reported to be in serious condition.
Boluarte has called for a time of national unity to heal the latest upheaval.
“No Peruvian life deserves to be sacrificed for political gain,” Boluarte tweeted Sunday following Taipe’s speech to Congress. “I express my condolences on the death of a citizen in Andahuaylas. I renew my call for dialogue and an end to violence.”
Meanwhile, in Lima, hundreds of people gathered outside the legislative building on Sunday. Dozens of police in riot gear used tear gas against those gathered, while just inside the building, lawmakers were starting their session. Police also chased and beat protesters as they fled the scene amid clouds of gas.
Prime Minister Pedro Angulo said Boluarte’s Cabinet would meet on Sunday evening to assess the civil unrest and determine how to respond.
Peru has had six presidents in the past six years, including three in just one week in 2020 when Congress flexes its impeachment powers.
The domestic power struggle continues as the Andes and its thousands of small farms struggle to survive the worst drought in half a century. The country of more than 33 million people is also experiencing its fifth wave of COVID-19 infections – having recorded about 4.3 million infections and 217,000 deaths since the pandemic began.
