Opponents protest in the center of Lima against President Pedro Castillo

Hundreds of opposition demonstrators marched through the streets of downtown Lima this Saturday, demanding that Peruvian President Pedro Castillo resign, considering him responsible in various corruption cases.

“Out Castle, out!” and “the town is respected, we want the vacancy!” were some of the slogans during the protest, who traveled about 4 kilometers with Peruvian flags and banners that raised the departure of the president from power.

“What you are seeing is the tip of the iceberg of a brutal corruption that was not seen before, and that we are now living. Detachment from democracy is being seen,” Enrique Quintanilla, a 63-year-old retiree, told AFP.

The March tried to reach the Peruvian Government Palace, but was stopped by barriers of metal bars installed by the police in the surrounding streets.

There were some struggles between protesters and police, who fired tear gas to contain the situation and disperse the tumult.

Peru is going through a acute political crisis in which Castillo, in power since July 2021 for a five-year term, has had to face two impeachment attempts by Congress -dominated by the opposition-, and respond to six tax investigations for alleged corruption of him and his closest family and political circle.

“The people are going to march (…) and we are going to remove it if Congress does not remove itthey who should represent us are not doing it”, he claimed Masiel Melgar, a protester 52 years old.

This week the Prosecutor’s Office formally denounced Castillo before Parliament for alleged corruption, a process that can lead to a political trial and the suspension of the president.

Castillo, a rural teacher, denies that his family has committed crimes and says he is the victim of a campaign to remove him from power.

The president described the prosecution’s complaint as a “coup d’état.”