For more than ten days, protests have been going on in various cities in Peru against the rise in the price of fuel, basic necessities and fertilizers, partly linked to the ongoing war in Ukraine. As has been the case since the protests began, there have been violent clashes with the police in recent days, resulting in deaths and injuries. Day by day, the demonstrations are turning into broader protests against the government, which is accused of failing to deal with the situation.
The first protests in late March affected hauliers and then gradually spread to farmers and other groups.
Dozens of trucks and groups of protesters gathered near the southwestern Peru city of Ica on Wednesday to block the PanAmerican Highway that runs parallel to the coast, the country’s most important for passenger transport and trade in goods. A farmer who took part in the roadblock died as a result of clashes with the police, who intervened to disperse the demonstrators. Ica Hospital has announced that another fifteen people have been hospitalized with various injuries, one of which is serious.
According to the government, six people have died in the protests so far. Dozens more were injured and at least 20 arrested.
VIDEO: Hundreds of protesters throw stones at police and block roads in Peru’s coastal Ica region to protest rising fuel prices and tolls.
The violence came a day after President Pedro Castillo lifted a curfew in Lima to stem nationwide demonstrations pic.twitter.com/jmvVplrXHJ
AFP news agency (@AFP) April 7, 2022
In the last few days there have been roadblocks, demonstrations and clashes with the police both in the capital Lima and in other cities. In Lima, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the government by violating the curfew announced Tuesday by President Pedro Castillo: demonstrators attacked some government buildings, including the Supreme Court and the National Office for Electoral Processes, and shouted slogans for Castillo’s resignation.
In a televised speech, Castillo said Peru was “not having a good time,” adding that social protests “are a constitutional right, but they must be held in accordance with the law.” Castillo, who has been governing the country in a rather chaotic manner since last summer, also said that the crisis “must be resolved within state authority”.
To quell the protests, the government on Sunday promised to cut taxes on the sale of staples like rice and flour and raise the minimum wage by 10 percent. According to Peru’s largest workers’ union, however, these measures are not enough: Further protests were organized for Thursday.