In Peru, the political situation remains muddled. Supporters of deposed President Castillo have been protesting for a long time. In 2022, parliament will still vote for new elections, but there is no longer a majority in a current decision. Meanwhile, in the capital Lima, a person dies for the first time during protests.
The political and social crisis in Peru continues to worsen. Despite weeks of demonstrations calling for immediate new elections, parliament over the weekend rejected a request by President Dina Boluarte to bring the elections forward to the end of the year. As a result, protests in Lima, some of them violent, broke out again. For the first time, a protester died in the capital.
Boluarte had hoped that with early elections at the end of 2023, the massive protests by supporters of the deposed, left-wing President Pedro Castillo, which had been going on for weeks, would end. In the overnight vote in parliament on Saturday, however, 65 MPs voted against Boluarte’s motion and 45 MPs were in favor. Two others abstained. Last month, Parliament voted by a large majority for early elections in April 2024. Nevertheless, the nationwide protests continued. As a result, Boluarte asked parliament on Friday to hold the election later this year.
Peru has been rocked by serious unrest since the ouster and arrest of leftist Castillo on December 7. In the nationwide protests, the demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Castillo’s successor and party colleague, the dissolution of parliament in order to hold new elections immediately. The protests repeatedly resulted in violent confrontations with the security forces, and at least 48 people were killed. A state of emergency has now been declared for almost a third of the Andean country.
So far, deaths have only been reported from the south of the country, where Castillo has a particularly large number of supporters among disadvantaged indigenous groups. But now a demonstrator has also been killed in Lima. In the capital, the demonstration on Saturday began peacefully. But then a group of masked demonstrators started throwing stones and concrete at police officers; they responded with massive use of tear gas. A protester was fatally injured, the Peruvian ombudsman’s office said.
The demonstrations and around a hundred road blockades are now leading to fuel, food and medical supply bottlenecks in Peru. The government announced that the streets would soon be cleared with the help of the police and military. According to the Ombudsman’s office, ten people have now died because they were unable to make it to the doctor or pharmacy in time due to the lockdown.
Boluarte again called on the right-wing opposition and the other parties on Saturday to put their party political interests aside and agree on a date for quick elections in the interest of the country. “I’m not clinging to power,” said the 60-year-old lawyer, who became vice president of the South American country after Castillo was ousted.
The country’s important tourism industry has also been badly affected by the protests. Since last June, the losses have totaled the equivalent of 5.7 million euros a day, said Tourism Minister Luis Fernando Helguero. Up to 85 percent of trips have been canceled. The minister referred in particular to the situation at the famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, at the foot of which hundreds of tourists were stranded. The Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, like many other countries, is currently advising against unnecessary trips to Peru.
