The new president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, negotiates on Friday the formation of a new government after the dismissal and arrest of Pedro Castilloaccused of an attempted coup.
While the future of the government is being decided, discontent grows in the streetswhere supporters of the ex-president demanded his release and the call for elections.
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It cannot be that a small group of 100 people remove a president elected by millions
Two days after the failure of his coup attempt, the former leftist president shares a detention center with former president Alberto Fujimori at the special police forces base, located east of Lima.
The prosecution accuses him of rebellion and conspiracy, and a high court ordered seven days in prison against him. In the streets, meanwhile, the demonstrations are growing and fueling uncertainty about the possibility that Boluarte can conclude her term in 2026, as she herself announced upon taking office on Wednesday.
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In Lima, a protest of Nearly a thousand people marched on Thursday towards Parliament, where they were dispersed by the police with tear gas and where at least three protesters were arrested., found the AFP. Protesters blocked the Panamericana Sur highway on Thursday using stones, logs and burning tires to demand general elections and the closure of Congress.
In Ica, some 300 km from Lima, several dozen protesters paralyzed the transport of passengers and cargo vehicles, according to a report by the Latina channel. In Arequipa, 1,000 km south of Lima, there were also blockades on the South Pan-American Highway.
Street mobilizations were also reported in other parts of the interior of Peru such as Chota (Cajamarca, birthplace of Castillo), Trujillo, Puno, Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Moquegua. The Ombudsman’s Office called “all citizens to calm and take responsibility.” “The use of violent means during protest mobilizations is prohibited,” she said in a message on Twitter.
All eyes are also on Friday at a ceremony by the Peruvian army for the 198th anniversary of the Battle of Ayacucho, which sealed the end of Spanish colonial domination in Latin America. Boluarte must attend the event and deliver a speech before the military, which played a key role in Castillo’s downfall by not supporting the emergency regime he proposed.
Castillo tried to dissolve the legislature and govern by decree, but his orders were disobeyed by the Armed Forces and Congress.
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Supporters of Pedro Castillo: “They did not let him work”
Thousands of protesters on Thursday demanded the resignation of the new president, the first woman to lead Peru and whom some leftists call a “traitor” for taking office.
“I am marching to defend my president Pedro Castillo, who has been unjustly vacated (removed). They have done the impossible to get Castillo out. From the moment he entered they have not let him work,” Mery Colque, a protester in Lima, told AFP.
“We are living in a coup d’état decreed by the coup Congress. It cannot be that a small group of 100 people remove a president elected by millions“Questioned Ana Zevallos, another supporter of Castillos who participated in the protest.
The judicial future of former President Castillo is debated
Castillo, a 53-year-old rural teacher far from the Peruvian elites, looked overwhelmed and slack-faced at a court hearing on Thursday. He was wearing the same blue jacket he was wearing when he was arrested. Visibly nervous, he declined to use his right of defense to reply to the accusations, and gave the floor to his lawyers.
“It is clear that the crime of rebellion has not been configured here” because it did not materialize, his defense alleged. If found guilty, he could face between 10 and 20 years in prison..
After announcing the dissolution of powers and declaring the state of emergency on Wednesday, Castillo was detained by his own escort while on his way to the Mexican embassy in Lima to request political asylum.
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The government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, his staunch defender, said that he is consulting with the new Peruvian government to grant him asylum, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard reported.
During the series of events that led to his dismissal, the United States and other countries in the region, as well as Spain, condemned his attempt to break the constitutional order and called for respect for the rule of law in Peru. On the other hand, Gustavo Petro, López Obrador, and the Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro blamed the Peruvian elites for cornering Castillo since he came to power.
Diana Boluarte: a president without a government
On her first day as president, Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer, received leaders of the right-wing caucuses in Congress in search of a consensus to form a new government.
Peru has been without a ministerial cabinet for two days since all of Castillo’s ministers resigned in a cascade in rejection of what they considered a self-coup. Although he initially said that he planned to rule until completing his term in July 2026, on Thursday he was more cautious and did not completely rule out the possibility of calling a general election in the midst of uncertainty about the future of the country.
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“There are some voices that indicate early elections, I think that the assumption of the presidency is to reorient what happens in the country. Later, in coordination with other organizations, we will be looking at alternatives for (how) better to reorient the destinations of the country” , she told the press when asked if she was considering calling elections in the short term.
AFP
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