Peru’s President Dina Boluarte, whose country is plagued by protests that have killed at least 42 people in five weeks, ruled out on Friday resigning as protesters demand.
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“Some voices from supporters of violence and radicals demand my resignation, inciting the population to chaos, disorder and destruction. To them I say to them in a responsible way: I will not resign, my commitment is with Peru”, affirmed Ms. Boluarte in a message to the nation broadcast by state television.
Three members of Boluarte’s government resigned in two days: Labor Minister Eduardo Garcia, who disagreed with the government’s handling of the protests, Interior Minister Victor Rojas, and Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations Grecia Rojas.
Since the start of the crisis, clashes between demonstrators and the police have left at least 42 dead, including a policeman burned alive by the crowd, according to the Defender of the People (ombudsman).
The protests erupted after the dismissal and arrest on December 7 of left-wing President Pedro Castillo, accused of having tried to carry out a coup d’etat by wanting to dissolve the Parliament which was about to oust him from power.
Ms. Boluarte, who was Mr. Castillo’s vice-president, succeeded him in accordance with the Constitution. But the demonstrators, who see her as a “traitor”, demand her departure as well as immediate early elections.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which completed an inspection mission in Peru on Friday, called for an impartial investigation into the government’s repression of the demonstrations, considering that there were indications pointing to “excessive use of strength”.
The Peruvian prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “genocide” against Ms. Boluarte and several other senior officials.