Brazilians have traveled to Peru on an exchange program and cannot leave the country due to political demonstrations (personal archive)
“We wanted to connect with the culture of Latin America in exchange and everything turned into a nightmare.” This is how the Brazilians Alice Ribeiro and Daniela de Oliveira define the trip to Peru, in which they have to stay until today political demonstrations in the country. Trapped and with no alternative, they said they had no help from the Brazilian embassy.
understand case:
Brazilians went to Peru in exchange
Local political demonstrations began in December
Since then, the two young women have not been able to return to Brazil.
Without the help of the embassy, they claim to be without options and fear they will run out of food and shelter.
Yahoo attempted to contact the Brazilian embassy and received no response as of the completion of this report
The exchange dream turned into a nightmare
Alice Andrade Ribeiro, 26, and Daniela de Oliveira, 26, are asking for help returning to Brazil. The young women left São Paulo and went to Lima, the capital of Peru, on January 4, where they stayed for three days. Once in the country, the demonstrations spread inland and gained strength until they reached the capital.
Watch Alice and Daniela’s explanation:
Understand the demonstrations in Peru
The Peruvian demonstrations began as soon as Congress ordered the impeachment of President Pedro Castilho on December 7, 2022 after he was accused of an attempted coup. Without support from the armed forces and police, he was arrested and his deputy, Dina Boluarte, took over the presidency.
Protesters are demanding new elections, the closure of Congress, accountability for deaths, a new constitution and freedom for thenPresident Pedro Castilho.
The protesters blocked roads, highways, airports, organized barricades and set fire to buildings, leading to the closure of businesses and all kinds of establishments, including tourism.
According to the Spanish newspaper Público, the number of dead reached 48.
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What have you done against demonstrations?
To flee the conflicts, the young women gave up some of the cities they wanted to visit and headed straight for Cusco to reach Machu Picchu, a historic city to which they already had guaranteed entry.
Thinking that the demonstrations would not take place in the most distant towns, they arrived in Ayacucho, a town where they took a board, a kind of secret van, with residents, and continued through Chincheros and Uripa, alternating between transport and walks that lasted about 12 hours until they arrive in Andahuaylas, where they have been taking refuge since Tuesday (10).
Look at the situation of streets and shops in the city where they are located:
How was the travel plan?
The itinerary included:
And the Brazilian embassy?
Alice Andrade and Daniela de Oliveira claim that they sent an email to the Brazilian embassy asking for help to report what happened and have not yet received an effective response. The Embassy of Brazil asked Brazilian women to ask their family members to get in touch with them and follow the guidelines.
The family members followed the instructions and the only response they received was protective orders,
“We’re desperate because our resources are running out and the only help we’ve had is the Peruvians, so far Brazil hasn’t done anything to help,” says Alice.
Yahoo News contacted the Brazilian embassy and received no response.