The country has been experiencing intense protests since then-president Pedro Castillo was deposed by Congress and arrested on December 7
Dozens of protesters were injured in clashes with the police, on Friday (20.jan.2023), in acts against the government in Peru. The country has been experiencing intense protests since the then president Pedro Castillo was deposed by Congress and stuck on December 7th.
The measures were applied after a failed attempt at a self-coup d’état, when Castillo tried to close the parliament, govern by decree and convene a Constituent Assembly. Protesters demand the resignation of the Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte.
Second Interior Minister Vicente Romero, around 1,500 demonstrators attacked police stations in the towns of Ilave and Zepita, in the Puno region of southern Peru. There was also another attempt to invade the local airport. Protesters even tried to invade the airports of Arequipa and Juliaca. In the capital Lima, 3,700 demonstrators took to the streets.
The National Police of Peru published in twitter videos of clashes between protesters and police in the Peruvian capital. Watch:
Viene generating disturbances in the center of Lima, with attacks on the forces of order and destruction of public and private heritage; there @PoliciaPeru There is legal use of force, guaranteeing respect for human rights. Asimism, we make a call to calm and peace. pic.twitter.com/opKY5vdzOe
— National Police of Peru (@PoliciaPeru) January 20, 2023
Police arrested 11 protesters. There are already 378 arrested since the beginning of the protests, on December 7th. More than 50 people have died in the acts.
“We insist on our intention that this conflict be resolved peacefully. Do not be carried away by these political movements that only intend to destroy the country”, said the Peruvian Minister of the Interior.
On Thursday (19.jan), the acts recorded clashes, death, fires and airport shutdown. Soon after, Boluarte said that “the full rigor of the law will fall on people who practice vandalism”.
“The government is firm and its cabinet more united than ever”, said the president in a sign of resistance to requests for resignation.
“To the Peruvian people, to those who want to work in peace and to those who cause protests, I say: I will never tire of calling you to good dialogue, telling you to work for the country”, he completed.
HOW IT STARTED
In a speech on national television on December 7, the then president, Pedro Castillo, announced the dissolution of Congress, decreed a state of emergency and curfew throughout the national territory.
The political movement was rejected by Congress and Castillo’s ministers. On the same day, congressmen approved the impeachment of the president by 101 votes in favor, 6 against and 10 abstentions.
Next, Castillo f.hi arrested by the National Police and Dina Boluarte, his then deputy, He took office then. On December 15, the Supreme Court of Justice of Peru decreed 18 months of preventive detention for the former president. He is supposedly investigated. “crime against the Powers of the State and the Constitutional Order, in the form of rebellion […] and conspiracy. The infractions are provided for in articles 346 and 349 of the Peruvian constitution.
Since then, supporters of former President Castillo have held demonstrations across the country calling for President Boluarte’s removal.
The protests also cite the disapproval of the population regarding the bill that proposes to bring forward the national elections to April 2024 – they are scheduled for the same month of 2026. The text was approved in the 1st round by Congress on December 20th, but still needs to go through a 2nd vote, which will be held on March 15th.
On January 13, the Minister of the Interior, Victor Rojas, the Minister of Women, Grecia Rojas Ortiz, and the Minister of Labor, Eduardo García Birimisa, resigned to their positions.
#Protests #Peru #leave #injured #Friday