Hundreds of protesters gathered this Saturday in the center of Lima to protest against the latest corruption scandal in Peru that affected the National Prosecutor’s Office and Congress, among other political circles, with the slogan of “Let them all go” and ” Out with the corrupt.”
Political, union and social organizations, such as the National Human Rights Coordinator or the feminist group Manuela Ramos, took to the streets with banners, flags and drums to protest against the Attorney General, Patricia Benavides, involved in an integrated corruption network. by his closest advisors.
The protesters march peacefully towards the Palace of Justice, the headquarters of the Prosecutor’s Office and finally Congress.
Congresswoman Flor Pablo attended the march and told the Epicentro TV portal that what the country is experiencing is “really dramatic, a situation that worsens the crisis with everything that has been uncovered at the level of the nation’s prosecutor, all that network of corruption that must be investigated”.
“Unfortunately, there is a pact for impunity between Congress, the Attorney General’s Office in its officials, the Executive, and I believe that every peaceful citizen demonstration is important to raise their voices and tell these bad authorities that we are tired.” added the legislator from the Integrity and Development bench.
In turn, legislator Susel Paredes said that this exit to the streets is “the first of many more that will be” because “it has already been seen that there are serious problems of corruption in the nation’s prosecutor’s office.”
“We have a parliamentary majority that plays into the hands of Dina Boluarte because if Dina falls, we will all leave,” added Paredes, who recalled that he has also presented several projects to advance general elections that are not scheduled in the plenary session to be voted on.
Last Monday, the Special Team of Prosecutors Against Corruption of Power (Eficcop) and the Investigation Division of Highly Complex Crimes (Diviac) of the Police carried out arrests and searches of homes and offices of advisors and former advisors of the attorney general, as part of the investigation of an alleged criminal organization “in the senior management of the Public Ministry.”
This organization is accused of “illegally influencing the decisions of congressmen” for the dismissal of the heads of the National Board of Justice (the highest governing body of the judiciary), the appointment of the current ombudsman, Josúe Gutiérrez, and the disqualification of the former attorney general Zoraida Ávalos.
As soon as the investigation was known, Benavides dismissed Marita Barreto as the coordinator of Eficcop and then assured that it was “a clumsy act” to try to block the investigations that continue against the highest representatives of the government for the deaths during the protests that took place in December to March last.
In that sense, he immediately filed a constitutional complaint in Congress for the crime of qualified homicide against President Dina Boluarte, Prime Minister Alberto Otárola, and other high authorities.
After that announcement, Boluarte pointed out that the prosecutor’s decision was a “despicable political maneuver” with which he intended to “distract the attention” of the public from the investigations against him.
As a result of the complaints, the attorney general will attend a hearing convened by the National Board of Justice on Wednesday, which has the power to dismiss her due to the accusations and evidence presented against her.
