ULAN/Pool / Latin American News A / ULAN/Pool / Latin American News A
Faced with the widespread social movement demanding the dismissal of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, the Peruvian government has decided to restrict access to Machu Picchu.
PERU – The legacy of the Inca civilization under threat from protesters? Plunged into a severe social and political crisis, Peru has decided to close Machu Picchu, an Inca tourist gem and the country’s main attraction, the government announced on Saturday January 21.
“The closure of the Inca Trail network (land approaches, Inca Trail) and the Llaqta (Citadel) of Machu Picchu has been ordered due to the social situation and to preserve the integrity of visitors,” the Ministry of Culture said in a press release.
The railroad, the only way to get to the site (besides the march), has been suspended for several days as the tracks were damaged by protesters. According to the operating company, rails were removed from the demonstrators.
Since then, no less than 400 tourists – including 300 foreigners – have been stranded at the foot of the site in Aguas Calientes. “We don’t know if a train will pick us up. All the tourists here are queuing up To for an evacuation,” Chilean tourist Alem Lopez told AFP on Friday.
Screenshot from Google Maps
Machu Picchu, a remnant of an ancient Inca city, is now closed to visitors due to damage caused by anti-government protesters.
Tourists “can’t get out because the railway has been damaged in various places,” Tourism Minister Luis Fernando Helguero said on Friday. “Some tourists have chosen to walk to Piscacucho, but it’s a six-hour or more walk and very few people can make it.” Piscacucho is the closest village to Machu Picchu that is connected to the road network.
46 dead since December 7th
Tourists were also stranded at the site in December before being evacuated by a special train monitored by police and teams of railway workers to repair the tracks.
This new announcement is all the more worrying given that already on Sunday in Lima, Cusco, Callao and Puno the government extended states of emergency by 30 days to limit anti-government demonstrations and even authorized the military to intervene alongside the police to restore public order.
Also on Thursday, the northern regions of Amazonas and La Libertad, as well as that of Tacna in the south, were placed under a state of emergency. Now, until mid-February, almost a third of the country is under this regime.
Since December 7, Peruvian demonstrations have been demanding the resignation of Dina Boluarte and the suspension of Congress. A social mobilization that has already killed 46 people (45 civilians and one policeman) since the protest movement began after the sacking and arrest of President Pedro Castillo.
This left leader had been accused of attempting a coup d’état by trying to dissolve Congress, then controlled by the right, which wanted to sack him over alleged corruption. He was replaced by Dina Boluarte, his vice president and a member of the same party as himself.
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