Peru | State of emergency in force, Pedro Castillo remains in prison

(Lima) The state of emergency is in force Thursday in Peru where the protest movement since the dismissal of President Pedro Castillo has not weakened, after demonstrations which left seven dead and 200 injured, despite the authorities’ proposal to advance the electoral calendar.

The violent demonstrations have gone crescendo since the dismissal of the head of state. In addition to the release of Mr. Castillo, the demonstrators demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte – from the same radical left party as him – and the dissolution of Parliament.

“The state of emergency is declared throughout the country for thirty days […] We need a forceful response with authority” in the face of violence, Defense Minister Alberto Otarola launched on Wednesday, stressing that the measure included “the suspension of freedom of movement and assembly” with “possibility of a curfew”.

“The police with the support of the armed forces will have control of the entire territory”, he specified, the state of emergency notably allowing the army to intervene in the maintenance of order.

The government had already declared a state of emergency on Monday in several provinces, then extended it on Tuesday.

Concessions

Overwhelmed by the demonstrations which continue, the power tries to get out of the crisis blowing hot and cold.

At the same time, President Dina Boluarte – who was Castillo’s vice-president until her failed attempt to dissolve parliament – ​​announced that she wanted to bring the electoral calendar forward again.

She claimed that the government, parliament and the electoral body were making “adjustments” in order “to bring the elections forward to December 2023”, specifying that “before this date, it does not work legally. We have to stay within the legal framework”.

M^me Boluarte, who crystallizes part of the discontent in his person, had already pledged on Sunday to bring them forward from 2026 to April 2024, without stopping the protests. She is herself affected by the measure: her mandate theoretically runs until 2026, Mr. Castillo having elected in 2021 for five years.

The mobilization remained strong on Wednesday with many roads blocked. The police had counted rallies in 14 of the 24 regions of the country on Tuesday evening. The southern part of the country, especially the tourist area of ​​Cuzco, and the northern part remain the most affected areas.

The train linking Cuzco and the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, Peru’s tourist gem, has been suspended since Tuesday due to the unrest.

According to the municipality of Machu Picchu, some 779 tourists of different nationalities have been stranded since Tuesday. The mayor, Darwin Baca, asked for help to evacuate them.

“We cannot return to Cuzco or leave for another country because of the protests. I am with children, for me it is a problem,” Gale Dut, an Israeli tourist, told AFP.

The airports of Cuzco, but also Juliaca (south) and Puno near Bolivia were closed on Wednesday “as a precaution”.

In Arequipa, the second largest city in the country, the military protected the airport and public buildings to deter possible attacks.

In Lima, like the last few days, scuffles took place Tuesday evening between police and demonstrators near Parliament.

Legal battle

The former president will remain in prison in his barracks located in Até (east of Lima). The judge who was to rule on Wednesday on the request for preventive detention of 18 months filed by the prosecution during the night, granted a deadline to the defense.

But he kept the president in custody for another 48 hours.

The Supreme Court had ordered on December 7 the provisional detention of Mr. Castillo for seven days. It was supposed to be released on Wednesday.

The ex-president, who had sworn “I will never give up” during a previous hearing, had called on his supporters to welcome him when he left prison.

” That’s enough ! The outrage, humiliation and mistreatment continue. Today, they deprive me of my freedom again for 18 months. I ask the IACHR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) to intercede for my rights and those of my Peruvian brothers and sisters who seek justice,” he wrote on his official Twitter account.

“I hold you, judges and prosecutors, responsible for what is happening in the country. “Only the people save the people,” he concludes.

In front of the barracks, a hundred people chanted slogans in his favour.

“We will stay here until our president comes out and returns to his presidential chair at the Palace,” promises Roxana Figueroa, 59, social worker.

On December 7, Mr. Castillo, 53, ordered the dissolution of Parliament, which shortly after voted by a large majority for his dismissal for “moral incapacity”. He had tried in vain to find refuge in the Mexican Embassy and was arrested.