First modification:
The first marches begin in Lima and Arequipa on a day that is expected to see massive mobilizations in the Peruvian capital, receiving thousands of people from other regions who have gathered in the city to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte. In Lima alone, more than 10,000 police officers were deployed. In addition, several roads in the country remain blocked despite the order of the president to open the passage.
This Thursday, January 19, is the designated day for the protests against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte to gather in Lima. Hundreds have already arrived in the capital, and throughout the day thousands more are expected to arrive from the country’s regions.
Some groups, mainly peasants and indigenous people, have traveled for two days to reach the capital. Others, already in Lima, have stayed on the campus of the universities of San Marcos and Engineering, supported by the students, to be able to participate in the mobilizations.
This will be the first time that a unitary call has been made in one place since the protests began on December 7 of last year. In addition to Lima, most of the mobilizations have concentrated in the peripheral regions of Peru, with a peasant and indigenous majority, as these are the sectors that most widely supported former President Pedro Castillo.
More than 10,000 troops from the @PolicePeru are concentrated in the Unit of the #Potao to deploy to their emplacements; They are going to protect, control and provide all the security in the march to maintain the internal and public order of the country. pic.twitter.com/jq2b4mjGuP
– National Police of Peru (@PoliciaPeru) January 19, 2023
Some demonstrations have already started and the protests are expected to gain strength as the day goes on. The Peruvian Police announced a deployment of “more than 10,000 troops” in the city.
Peru still woke up with several roads blocked, despite Boluarte’s order to open the passes. According to data from the Superintendence of Transportation, this Thursday there are 106 interrupted transit points and 21 affected highways in a total of twelve regions of the country.
For example, on the Pan-American highway there are at least four sectors with protest barricades. The Central highway, one of the main accesses to Lima, is also blocked.
In addition to the arrival in Lima of the groups of protesters, the first protests have already taken place in the city of Arequipa. Groups of construction workers blocked an access to the city and the Police used tear gas to clear the area.
Three people were injured, according to the local media ‘RPP’, and are being treated at the hospital.
“Neither democracy nor peace”
The protesters’ demands remain clear: Boluarte’s resignation, the closure of Congress and an immediate call for general elections, in addition to a constituent assembly.
On Wednesday, the general secretary of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP), Gerónimo López, assured that if these demands are not met there will be “neither democracy nor peace” in the country.
If Boluarte resigns, having no one occupying the Vice Presidency, the command of the country would pass to the president of Congress, the conservative José Williams Zapata. That is partly why the protesters are calling for a complete change of powers in Peru.
However, the president, who succeeded the leftist Pedro Castillo, whom the Justice accuses of having sought a coup, maintains that her intention is to remain in office.
52 fatalities in the framework of anti-government protests
Since the protests began more than a month ago, 52 people have lost their lives in the protests. The last victim was registered on Wednesday night in the city of Macusani, in the southern region of Puno.
In total, 42 protesters lost their lives and one police officer, in addition to nine people who died as a result of the blockades and protests without participating in them.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) condemned on Wednesday the violence of the security forces and also the destruction of public property caused by the protesters.
“We condemn the violence on the part of the security forces that are in the process of investigation and also the violence that has affected a series of public goods,” said the vice president of the Commission, Edgar Stuardo Ralón.
With EFE and local media
#Hundreds #demonstrators #gather #Lima #roadblocks #persist