Police and soldiers in the Arequipa region, southern Peru, on December 17, 2022. DIEGO RAMOS / AFP
Authorities say they have the situation under control in Peru, where demonstrations and clashes have left at least 20 dead and 646 injured since President Pedro Castillo was sacked and arrested on December 7.
“The information we have is that the measures we have taken are working (…) The violence of the people demonstrating in the streets is decreasing,” Prime Minister Pedro Angulo said on television on Sunday 18 December.
Economy Minister Alex Contreras said on Peruvian radio earlier Sunday that the country was “on track” to ease the crisis triggered by the ouster of President Pedro Castillo.
“We’re staying here, tight”
President Dina Boluarte refuses to resign. “What would my resignation solve? We will remain firmly here until Congress decides to bring forward the elections (…),” she said in a television message on Saturday. The former vice-president has called for a review of the parliamentary vote that fell on Friday against bringing the general election forward from 2026 to 2023.
Some of the pro-Castillo Congress also want the ex-president to be part of a constituent assembly responsible for drafting Peru’s new constitution, which was not unanimous.
The proposal to hold the elections earlier, backed by 83% of the Peruvian population, will be put to the vote again in Parliament on Tuesday in hopes of calming popular discontent.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers A bloody crackdown on demonstrators in Peru
Upcoming cabinet reshuffle
The new president, who belongs to the same radical left party as Pedro Castillo, explained that when the armed forces take to the streets “to protect the citizens” “because the situation is getting out of hand”. She denounced the presence of organized “violent groups”.
However, Ms Boluarte indicated that she had spoken to the chief of the armed forces and that an inquiry into the civilians killed in the clashes would be launched and then brought before the court-martial.
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Aiming to better deal with this crisis, Dina Boluarte also announced on television on Sunday that she would make several changes in her government on Tuesday, including that of the prime minister, by favoring political experience.
Pope Francis prayer
Pope Francis prayed during his Angelus in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday “for an end to the violence in the country and for us to embark on the path of dialogue to overcome the political and social crisis affecting the population”.
Also read: Peru: Overwhelmed by demonstrations, the government declares a state of emergency
Demonstrators are demanding the release of Pedro Castillo, the resignation of Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of parliament and immediate new elections.
The most violent protests took place in the poverty-stricken Andes region of southern Peru, where social grievances have long gone unaddressed.
200 tourists evacuated
Some 200 tourists stranded because of the demonstrations in the famous Machu Picchu region were able to be evacuated on Saturday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) noted.
Boarding a train, they arrived near the town of Piscacucho in the Cuzco region, where a huge rock blocked the passage. From there, tourists, including North Americans and Europeans, walked about two kilometers to board buses bound for the city of Cusco, which has an international airport.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers In Peru, the new president seeks dialogue with the opposition
The mayor of the village near Machu Picchu, Darwin Baca, told AFP that “5,000 tourists” were stranded in Cuzco. The city’s airport reopened on Friday afternoon.