The Peruvian capital braces for more unrest as thousands of protesters flock to Lima from across the country to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, after nearly six weeks of unrest that has killed nearly 50 people.
Outrage at the rising death toll has fueled growing protests, which began in early December in support of ousted former President Pedro Castillo but have overwhelmingly shifted to demanding Boluarte’s resignation, the closure of Congress and new elections. Boluarte was Castillo’s vice president, replacing him after he tried to shut down Congress and rule by decree on December 7.
Amid the convoys of trucks and cars en route to the coastal capital was a group of medical volunteers mourning the loss of Marco Antonio Samillan, a 30-year-old student doctor who was fatally shot last week while helping an injured protester in the deadliest bout of violence helped since the protests began.
His companions renamed their brigade in honor of Samillan, who had just completed his sixth year of medical school and wanted to become a neurosurgeon. He died of internal bleeding caused by a gunshot wound in last Monday’s violent clashes that killed 18 civilians and a police officer in the southern city of Juliaca.
“He always had a vocation to help the poorest,” said Samillan’s older brother Raúl, 40.
“I tried to convince him not to go to the protests but he took his first aid kit and went anyway. That was the last time I spoke to him.”
“All of Juliaca is in mourning. This has caused our people deep pain,” he added.
Marco Antonio Samillan, 31, who was killed in the protests. Photo: collectMarco Samillan, the sixth of nine siblings who grew up in poverty, always dreamed of becoming a doctor and treating patients in his native Puno, the poor, barren region on the high plateau that connects Peru’s southern border with Bolivia.
Human rights organizations and the UN have accused Peru’s security forces of using disproportionate force during the protests, including firing live ammunition and dropping tear gas canisters from helicopters.
Edgar Ralón, vice-president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said last week that a fact-finding mission had received “reports of indiscriminate shooting at protesters in certain regions…as well as other reports of shooting at vital points [of the body] with lethal and large caliber weapons in violation of the principle of the progressive use of force.”
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Ralón said the ongoing political crisis in Peru – which has seen seven presidents in six years – has contributed to the deadliest political violence in two decades. Discrimination and inequality have also played a role, while labeling protesters as terrorists has contributed to polarization and conflict, he added.
The deaths have also sparked longstanding grievances in Puno and much of the largely impoverished southern Andes, home to many of the mines that power the country’s economy and attractions like Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca that make up most of its income from tourism.
“The riches from these raw materials never reach our cities; They are shared by the Lima elite,” Samillan said.
“We are part of this country. We want quality of life with good health care and education too. But when we raised our voices in protest and asked them to respect our rights, they responded with punches and bullets.”
According to a survey by the Institute of Peruvian Studies this month, 58 percent of Peruvians think there has been excesses on the part of law enforcement in the face of the protests. The same poll found that 83% of respondents were in favor of early elections and only 3 in 10 Peruvians supported Boluarte’s government.
Boluarte has apologized for the deaths but has also insisted she will not step down and repeatedly blamed radical elements for fueling the protests and forcing people to attend.
Patricia Zárate, head of public opinion research at the Institute of Peruvian Studies, said extremists – including some linked to the Shining Path rebel movement, which terrorized the country in the 1980s and 1990s – may have played a minor role in the protests , Boluartes The discourse was perceived as condescending.
“It treats people as if they have no control over their political opinions, as if they are being manipulated and do not understand why they are marching,” she said.
“People don’t feel represented by the political system and want to be included.”