The president of PeruDina Boluarte, announced at dawn this Monday the state of emergency “in areas of high social conflict”, while proposing to advance the general elections to April 2024, two years ahead of schedule.
The message responds to the protests registered in various parts of the country, which left at least two dead this weekend in clashes with the police, and which broke out after the dismissal of Pedro Castillo on Wednesday, December 7.
According to a report from the BBCthe Minister of the Interior, César Cervantes, specified that the state of emergency was coming into force in the regions of Apurímac, Arequipa and Ica, in the south of the country, and that it would be implemented “as soon as possible.”
During the application of the state of emergency, the constitutional rights related to freedom of transit in the national territory, freedom of assembly and personal freedom and security, included in article 2 of the Political Constitution, are suspended, according to local media.
After rejecting the electoral advance, the president confirmed that she will present a concrete proposal to Congress for this purpose. The protesters demand the closure of Congress, as well as the advancement of the elections after Castillo’s vacancy. Among some sectors, the release of the former president is also requested.
Protest mobilizations broke out, in isolation, in Andahuaylas and other cities in the country the same day that Castillo was removed from office by Congress, after ordering the dissolution of Parliament and the establishment of an emergency government.
On Saturday, protesters took two police officers hostage in a square in Andahuaylas in the middle of a day of marches, which led to clashes with the National Police and some twenty injured.
#URGENT | @PolicePeru launches tear gas bombs against citizens who protest the closure of the @congresoperu and early elections. Protests at the Arequipa international airport continue and repression does not stop.
?️: @ZintiaFLcorrespondent in Arequipa pic.twitter.com/U4Q5LqhjbT— ?? Wayka ? (@WaykaPeru) December 12, 2022
Boluarte made “a call for calm and serenity” and stressed that “dialogue and understanding is imperative.”
The mobilizations have also taken place in the center of Lima, a short distance from the Government Palace, where the protesters clashed with the National Police on Friday and the agents dispersed them with tear gas canisters.
On Monday morning, dozens of people took part in the Alfredo Rodríguez Ballón international airport, in the Arequipa region. According to a newspaper report Tradeat least two people were injured during the confrontation between the Police and the protesters.
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Protesters set fire to an airport warehouse and at least 2,000 people entered the facility, according to this outlet.
Due to the protests and clashes at the airport facilities, Latam Airlines canceled flights to and from Arequipa.
With information from BBC, Efe and El Comercio.
