The government of Peru declared a state of emergency for 60 days in seven regions of the country amid incessant protests demanding the resignation of the president Dina Boluarte and that they have left 48 dead, the official newspaper reported this Sunday.
The departments where the measure is imposed are the Amazon Mother of God (east), and of Cusco, Fist, apurimac, Arequipa, moquegua and tacnaall in the south-southeast region of the country.
The state of exception, which is also in force until mid-February in the regions of Limewhere the capital is located, and the Callao, headquarters of the country’s main maritime and air terminals, grants “control of internal order” to the police and the armed forces.
The measure restricts or suspends “constitutional rights related to the inviolability of the home, freedom of transit through the national territory, freedom of assembly and personal freedom and security,” the official gazette detailed.
The decree also declares the “mandatory social immobilization” of people from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. for 10 days in the department of Puno, with the exception of those who do so to carry out productive or work activities or who require urgent medical attention.
In said altiplano region, the epicenter of anti-government demonstrations, the decree provides that the Joint Command of the armed forces assume unified command of soldiers and police.
Bloody clashes on January 9 in Juliaca, one of the main cities of Puno, left 19 people dead, including a policeman, while roadblocks on the border with Bolivia keep life in that region paralyzed and tense. .
In Lima, a massive march of peasants, civilians and students against the Boluarte government and calling for the closure of Congress culminated on Saturday in clashes in the center of the city.
The protest took place a day after Parliament blocked until August any debate to advance the general elections.
With this decision, based on procedural technicalities, Congress slammed the door on the possibility of renewing the Presidency and Congress in 2023, as protesters have been clamoring for since December.
Boluarte replaced leftist former president Pedro Castillo, who was ousted and arrested on December 7 after a failed attempt to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
