LIMA (AFP) – Thousands of Peruvians from remote parts of the Andes protested Thursday in the capital of the Andean nation to demand the resignation of President Dina Poluarte and support for her predecessor Pedro Castillo, on a day when some clashes with police were recorded in central Lima.
In the latest demonstrations that have rocked the nation for more than a month and left at least 55 dead, demonstrators marched through the streets of Lima’s historic center and after approaching the famous San Martin Square, hundreds of riot police blocked them from entering.
People in a nearby street remained peaceful. Some protesters threw stones at the police, who responded with tear gas. The authorities also evacuated several people who were in a nearby park.
At night, a building near the protest area caught fire and firefighters were trying to put out the flames that were spreading several meters into the sky. It was not clear if he had anything to do with the protests, and there were no reports of injuries.
So far, protests have been recorded mainly in the southern Andes. The demonstrations began after Boulwart, who was Castillo’s vice-president, was sworn in on December 7 as the new president, although he had promised exactly one year earlier that, if the president was impeached, she would resign.
Castillo was overthrown after a failed attempt to dissolve Congress.
On Thursday, the Office of the Ombudsman reported that a man died in clashes with police in the southern region of Arequipa, bringing the death toll to 55. The agency said on its Twitter account that 10 people were injured during the incident. They were taken to health centers.
Peru is a highly centralized country and about a third of its 33 million people live in the Lima metropolitan area.
“In my country, the voices of the Andeans, the voices of the majority, have been silenced,” said Florencia Fernández, a lawyer who lives in Cusco. “We had to travel to this aggressive city, to this central city, and say ‘The Andes have come down'”.
People are now “going out to fight, coming out to claim their just rights,” Campesino Samuel Acero, head of the Cusco Provincial Committee of Struggle, told the Associated Press as he walked through Lima’s historic center.
In Cusco, he added, “in the land of natural gas, we don’t have natural gas and LPG costs us dearly… On the other hand, here in Lima, in this desert, they bring our gas.”
Acero complained that Machu Picchu, the Valley of the Incas, and other archaeological treasures are visited by tourists from all over the world, but “those who make money from tourism are few who don’t live in Cusco…the savvy constituents that Cusco enjoys receive nothing from tourism,” This makes us very angry.”
The focus in Lima is also a reflection of the increase in anti-government mobilization that the capital has recorded in recent days.
“Lima, which did not join the protests at all in the first phase in December, decided to join after the Juliaca massacre,” said Omar Coronel, a professor of political science at the Catholic University of Peru, referring to the killing of 18 people in that city on January 9.
Along with a group of more than 2,000 people from Cusco who were marching peacefully in front of the Supreme Court in the historic center of Lima, Paulina Konsac, 56, held a huge Bible in her arms. Our Lord says, “Do not kill your neighbor.” Dina Bulwart is killed as she fights between brothers.” “My brothers need advice, they need support, they need water, they need God, and that is why I was able to come,” he added.
Boulwart said he supports a plan to move forward with the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for 2026 to 2024. Many of the dissatisfied say there is no potential dialogue with the government which, they say, has unleashed so much violence.
Activists dubbed Thursday’s demonstration the “March of the Four Suyos” in reference to the four cardinal points of the Inca Empire. It is the same name that received another huge mobilization in 2000 when thousands of Peruvians took to the streets to protest against the authoritarian government of Alberto Fujimori, who resigned months later.
But there are many differences between those demonstrations and those this week.
“In 2000, people protested against a regime that was already firmly entrenched in power,” Cárdenas explained. “In this case they are facing a government that has only been in power for a month and is incredibly fragile.”
In addition, the mobilization of 2000 had a central leadership and was led by political parties. “Now what we have is something much more fragmented,” Coronel said.
Last month’s protests were largely grassroots efforts without clear leadership.
There has never been a fill of this size before. “There is already a proven common logic in the periphery that it is necessary and urgent to change everything,” said Gustavo Montoya, a historian at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. “I have a feeling we are witnessing a historic change.”
The protests have grown to such an extent that it is unlikely that the demonstrators will accept Boulwart’s resignation. They are also now calling for structural reform in the face of the growing crisis of confidence in the ruling elite.
