Thousands of Peruvians – many from the country’s southern mining regions – descended on Thursday in the capital Lima to take part in a large demonstration against the government and Congress.
Under the motto “Take over Lima”, they once again demanded, in addition to the resignation of President Boluarte, rapid new elections, a clearing of Congress and a new constitution to replace the business-friendly constitution of the right-wing ruler Alberto Fujimori from the 1990s. In a speech in the evening, Boluarte called on the protesters to engage in dialogue and announced consequences for those “who want to create chaos and disorder”.
The star march known as “Marcha de los Cuatro Suyos” probably alludes to the past, wrote the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” (“NZZ”): In 2000, demonstrations against Fujimori’s controversial election victory against the left-wing candidate Alejandro Toledo had the same slogan took place. The protests had claimed numerous lives.
Government declared state of emergency
They now want to centralize the movement in the “heart of Peru” to see whether the government “moves,” the demonstrators said on Thursday. Almost 12,000 officers were deployed in Lima. Clashes broke out between protesters and police officers in the capital. The government opponents threw stones and firecrackers at the police officers, who fired tear gas into the crowd. Fighting broke out on Wednesday evening, with protesters throwing stones and police using tear gas to disperse the crowd.
In Arequipa in the south of the country around 1,000 demonstrators tried to storm the airport on Thursday. The police pushed people back with tear gas. According to the Peruvian Human Rights Commissioner, one demonstrator was killed. In the south of Peru in particular, Castillo’s supporters have repeatedly delivered violent and sometimes fatal clashes to the police. The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in the capital Lima and in the areas around the cities of Cusco, Puno and Callao on Sunday.
Outrage over fatalities fuels protests
The rising death toll has fueled protests initially centered on Boluarte’s resignation. Human rights organizations and the UN have accused the Peruvian security forces of using disproportionate force against the protests, including the use of live ammunition and the shooting down of tear gas canisters from helicopters.
Tear gas used during protests in Lima
In the Peruvian capital Lima, demonstrators and security forces clashed violently. The emergency services also used tear gas against the people.
58 percent of Peruvians think the security forces have acted excessively in the face of the protests, according to a survey conducted this month by the Institute for Peruvian Studies. The same poll found that 83 percent of respondents are in favor of a snap election and only three in 10 Peruvians approve of the Boluarte government.
Another survey last year by the polling institute LAOB found that only 21 percent of Peruvians are satisfied with democracy – the lowest figure in all Latin American and Caribbean countries apart from Haiti. And more than half of Peruvians who took part in the survey called a military takeover of the country “justified” given high levels of corruption.
Deadliest political violence ‘in two decades’
According to the Vice President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Edgar Ralon, the current political crisis in Peru has contributed to the deadliest political violence in two decades. Discrimination and inequality also played a role, while labeling protesters as terrorists contributed to polarization and conflict, Ralon told the Guardian.
The bloody protests are now also having economic consequences. Almost all bookings until the end of March had been canceled, the Peruvian news agency Agencia Andina recently reported, citing the Cusco region’s chamber of commerce. Many Peruvians are dependent on income from attractions such as Machu Picchu – in Cusco around 60 percent of the people live from tourism.
Democracy could not keep promises
Peru is one of the youngest democracies in North, Central and South America – free and fair elections were only reintroduced in 2001. However, the past two decades since the reintroduction of democracy have not brought better living conditions, the broadcaster CNN reported. Although the economy has flourished, the state has not managed to remedy “chronic deficiencies” in the areas of security, justice and education.
“Security, justice, education and other basic services remain inadequate, leading to widespread perceptions of government corruption, injustice, ineffectiveness and neglect,” CNN quoted Harvard University’s Steven Levitsky as saying. “This is one of the main causes of public dissatisfaction. Where such perceptions persist across governments, public trust in democratic institutions is likely to wane.”
“People don’t feel represented”
Several demonstrators told CNN that the country needed a fresh start and called for new elections in all areas to “restore a sense of legitimacy” to public institutions. Boluarte, on the other hand, refuses to resign or hold a new election. Instead, she replaced senior government officials, including former Labor Minister Eduardo Garcia, who had come under criticism for the government’s handling of the protests.
Boluarte apologized for the deaths in the demonstrations, but insisted that radical extremists initiated the protests and forced people to take part. According to Patricia Zarate, head of the Department of Public Opinion Research at the Institute for Peruvian Studies, while extremists played a role in the protests, Boluarte’s statement was perceived as condescending.
“She treats people like they have no control over their political opinions, like they’re being manipulated and don’t understand why they’re marching,” she told The Guardian. “People don’t feel represented by the political system and want to be included.”
Gap between Lima and the rest of the country
Peru’s Attorney General has launched an investigation into Boluarte’s handling of the riots. But even if the current government abdicates and another politician becomes president, the causes of the unrest in Peru will remain, according to CNN.
Because the political crises have been going on for decades. Since 2000, all but one president-elect have been impeached or arrested except for Alan Garcia, who committed suicide prior to his arrest. The state in South America is also marked by a deep chasm between the powerful capital Lima and the rest of the country, which still largely identifies with Castillo.
No trust in institutions
Many Peruvians feel neglected by the institutions and the parliament, which is seen as a corrupt nest of snakes. With Castillo’s victory in the 2021 presidential election, they believed in change in the country. Among other things, he announced a new constitution and made far-reaching promises to the indigenous population.
But soon after taking office, the former teacher gave up his promises of fundamental changes. While some of his supporters are disappointed by the broken promises, many of them blame Castillo’s failure on the corrupt parliament.
