On Monday, transport strikes, demonstrations and roadblocks erupted in various cities in Peru for the seventh straight day to protest increases in the cost of fuel, food and fertilizers, including due to sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine. The situation complicates an already shaky economy and creates further difficulties for Peru’s President Pedro Castillo, who has ruled the country in a rather chaotic manner since he took office. Castillo himself announced on Monday evening the introduction of a curfew in Lima until Tuesday 11:59 p.m. “to protect everyone’s fundamental rights”.
The first demonstrations were organized last week in the Junín area of central Peru, but then spread to the rest of the country, including Ica and the capital Lima, where protests erupted in different areas of the city on Sunday due to a union strike the transport company. The main highways and railways leading to the capital were blocked by vehicles and occupied by residents, while protesters and police clashes in Ica.
Clashes also erupted in Junín, an area where Castillo won the majority of votes in last June’s elections and is now accused of not listening to the people who voted for him. At least 12 people were injured in the clashes and at least four died, including a minor. 14 were arrested.
Over the weekend, the Castillo government signed an agreement with representatives from the transportation and agricultural sectors to lower excise taxes on fuel in a bid to lower prices and limit competition from foreign carriers. The agreements also include a plan to reduce Peru’s dependence on fertilizers, one of Russia’s most exported products, but one that cannot currently be traded due to the West’s harsh economic sanctions: Peru’s Ministry of Agricultural Development has committed to five the production of one of a certain type of fertilizer produced in Peru in order to reduce dependence on imported fertilizer and be able to sell it at a “social price”.
The increase in fuel costs has also led to an increase in the prices of groceries and basic necessities.
It’s a process that is exacerbating an already fragile economy, pushing inflation to 26year highs. In return, the government has pledged to cut general taxes on the sale of staple foods like rice and flour for a period of three months. He also pledged to raise the minimum wage by 10 percent to the equivalent of around €300 a month: an initiative that some critics say will not have much impact due to the large presence of workers with ties to the underground economy, in which they mostly work illegally.
Also read: Rising grain and fertilizer prices threaten to trigger a global food crisis