This measure, effective for 30 days, authorizes the army to intervene to maintain order and suspends several constitutional rights.
The Peruvian government on Saturday declared a state of emergency in the capital Lima and several other regions amid protests against President Dina Boluarte that have killed at least 42 people in the country for five weeks. This measure, in force for 30 days, authorizes the army to intervene to maintain order and results in the suspension of several constitutional rights such as freedom of movement and assembly and the inviolability of the home, according to a decree published in the official decree on Saturday night Decree newspaper.
In addition to the capital, the departments of Cusco and Puno (south) are particularly affected by the state of emergency, as is the port of Callao next to Lima. More than a hundred roadblocks blocked traffic across Peru on Saturday, especially in the south, the epicenter of the protests, but also around Lima. However, authorities on Saturday reopened Cusco International Airport, which is vital to Peru’s tourism sector.
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The protests erupted after the December 7 sacking and arrest of Socialist President Pedro Castillo, who was accused of attempting to stage a coup by attempting to dissolve parliament preparing to oust him from power. Dina Boluarte, Pedro Castillo’s vice-president, succeeded him constitutionally and came from the same left-wing party as him. But the demonstrators, who see her as a “traitor”, are demanding her resignation and immediate new elections. Dina Boluarte refuses to resign for the time being.