Boluarte’s announcement of send to Congress a bill to advance the elections two years planned in 2016 fueled the protesters, who demand the release of the ousted president, Pedro Castillothe closure of parliament and immediate elections.
One of the deaths on Monday occurred in Arequipa (south)second city of Peru, during the police action to recover the airport runway taken over by about 1,500 protesters.
Four other civilians died during marches repelled by riot police in Chincheros and Andahuaylasin the department of Apurímac, the birthplace of Boluarte, also in the southern part of the country.
“We have reported seven dead people in the regions of Abancay and Arequipa” since Sunday, told AFP a source from the People’s Ombudsman.
Among the dead are three teenagers who were between 15 and 16 years old. In Chincheros, protesters They set fire to the prosecutor’s office and a police station.
A pitched battle broke out at the Arequipa airport when the police evicted protesters who blocked the runway with stones, sticks and burning tiresconfirmed an AFP photographer at the scene.
Police confronted them with tear gas and retook control of the track after three hourshe added.
Protesters, some dressed in traditional hats and costumes, they burned security booths and destroyed the lighting from the runway. The airport closed and stranded dozens of passengers.
Also in Arequipa, the Gloria dairy factoryone of the largest in the country, was forcibly occupied by protestersaccording to television images.
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In Lime, hundreds of protesters were dispersed by police with tear gas in their attempt to get to Congress.
The government declared a state of emergency for 60 days on Monday. in 7 provinces of the Abancay region (south).
Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation The Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cusco closed on Monday night because Protesters violently tried to enter to your facilities.
PROTESTS ON THE RISE
The Former President Pedro Castillo is detained by order of a judge After his failed self-coup Wednesday and subsequent removal by Congress. It was replaced constitutionally in the head of state for his Vice President, Dina Boluarte.
“President Castillo is not in good healththe intervention of the International Red Cross has been requested to come and verify the health of the president. we interpose habeas corpus to obtain his immediate release. It is his right, ”he told the press the lawyer Ronald Atencio.
In a attempt to stop the protestsgovernment dismissed the country’s 26 regional prefects on Mondayappointed by the Castillo government, under the argument that they “incite protests.”
In the meantime, The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights declared itself “deeply concerned because of the possibility of an escalation of violence.”
“Given the number of protests, including strikes, planned this week, we call on all involved to exercise restraint“, he indicated in a statement issued in Geneva.
The mobilizations grow since Sunday in various cities in the north and south Andes.
Usually, Lima always turned his back on Castilloa rural teacher and union leader with no contact with the elites, while the Andean regions have identified with it since the 2021 elections.
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“INDEFINITE UNEMPLOYMENT”
In the meantime, Agrarian unions and peasant and indigenous organizations announced an “indefinite strike” starting Tuesday, adding to the requests for the closure of Congress, advancement of elections and a new Constitutionaccording to a statement from the Agrarian and Rural Front of Peru.
The Railway service between Cusco and the Inca citadel Machu Picchu will be suspended on Tuesday due to the protests, the operating company reported.
The collective, which brings together a dozen organizations, also demands the “immediate freedom” of Castillo. According to the Agrarian Front, “it did not perpetrate any coup d’état.”
The ex-president he was detained on Wednesday by his own escort when he was going to the embassy of Mexico to request political asylum. The prosecution accuses him of rebellion and conspiracy, but also investigates him for corruption.
EARLY ELECTIONS
The attention is placed on the Congressional reaction to early election proposalsince it implies that they cut his term by two years.
To cut mandates, such as the presidential and legislative, a constitutional reform is requireda process that it can take up to 12 months.
The demand for new elections is associated with a overwhelming rejection of Congress: according to polls from November, 86% of Peruvians disapprove of parliament.
