Two teenagers died and at least five other people were injured on Sunday, amid growing protests against Peru's new president,Dina Boluarte, following the failed "coup" and arrest of her predecessor Pedro Castillo last week.
Indicative of the growing tension: a meeting of Congress to discuss the situation in the country was suspended after a skirmish between members of the body. Footage uploaded to social media sites shows a parliamentarian punching a colleague from behind, then the two pushing each other and arguing in the semicircle, without it being clear why. The session continued to be suspended last night.
Protests proliferated across the country, especially in northern and Andean cities. Thousands of people took to the streets in Cajamarca, Arequipa, Tacna, Antahuilas, Cusco and Puno, with central demands for the release of the former head of state and the calling of new elections. Participants called for a general strike.
"We mourn the death of two people," and there were also "people injured in the riots. I appeal to the population to remain calm," Interior Minister Cesar Cervantes told RPP radio station.
Earlier, police said one death - that of a teenager - and five injuries were reported in the riots.
According to reports in the Peruvian press, a 15-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man were killed in clashes at the airport in Andahuila.
"The life of no Peruvian is worth sacrificing for political interests," President Boluarte said via Twitter, adding "I reiterate my call for dialogue and the renunciation of violence."
"Corrupt rats"
The previous day, incidents in Adawaylas (south) resulted in 20 injuries (16 civilians and 4 police officers). The riots resumed yesterday, with police firing tear gas and demonstrators throwing stones and other objects.
Police riot control units[/B] were expected to arrive in the city by air to contain the protests, according to law enforcement agencies.
Antawailas, in the Apurimac region, is the hometown of Ms Boluarte, who has been described as a "traitor" by supporters of former President Castillo, who was impeached by Congress last week.
A police station in Wancababa, a city in the Apurimac, was set on fire, according to the RPP.
In Lima, from 1,000 to 2.000 people demonstrated in front of Congress, chanting slogans such as "Castillo you are not alone, the people support you" and holding placards accusing "Dina (Boluarte) and Congress" of being "corrupt rats". The police repelled them using tear gas late yesterday afternoon.
Lima has never been a stronghold of Mr. Castillo, a provincial educator and trade union leader who has had no connection to the political elites, but instead has strong support in the Andean regions since 2021.
Farmers' unions and peasant and indigenous organizations called yesterday Sunday for an "indefinite strike" from tomorrow Tuesday, rejecting parliament, calling for early elections and a new constitution.
According to a statement by the Rural and Provincial Front of Peru, which demands the "immediate release" of Mr Castillo, who "did not commit any coup" when he tried on December 7 to dissolve parliament and move to impose a state of emergency.
He was arrested a few hours later by his own bodyguards as he was on his way to the Mexican embassy to seek political asylum. He is accused of "sedition."
Letter from prison
Mrs. Boluarte, vice president until she was sworn in as head of state on December 7, following Congress' decision to remove Mr. Castillo, formed a government[/B] the day before yesterday Saturday composed of independents and technocrats, with former prosecutor Pedro Angulo as prime minister.
"So far, the president is not clear on the big question: is it a transitional government or a government that intends to stay until 2026?" political analyst Giovanna Pensiaflor told Agence France-Presse.
The demand to hold new elections is linked to the mass rejection of Congress: according to polls conducted in November, 86% of Peruvians disapprove of the parliament.
On Friday, Mrs Boluarte did not rule out the possibility of calling early elections in order to find a peaceful way out of the political crisis.
Meanwhile, the theory of the former head of his government and his lawyer Mr. Castillo's theory that the former president was under the influence of a substance without his knowledge when he attempted the coup is generating passions in the country. Castillo wrote from prison, he complains that a doctor, nurses and a prosecutor "without a face", i.e. wearing hoods, forced" him to give blood samples against his will, denouncing a "Machiavellian plot".
The president of the forensic institute, Francisco Brisuela, said on his side that the former president "refused to submit" to tests.
Source: APM
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