Peru’s President Dina Boluarte said on Saturday she would remain in office and asked Congress to bring forward general elections to end the crisis and protests sparked by the impeachment of her predecessor, Pedro Castillo.
“What would my resignation solve? We will stay here, firm, until the Congress decides to bring forward the elections. […] I ask that we reconsider the vote” of Friday, when the Parliament decided against the advancement of the general elections from 2026 to 2023.
Congress President Jose Williams said on Friday that the vote should be reconsidered in an upcoming session.
In a televised message to the nation, Ms Boluarte lamented the violent protests that began on December 7 which left at least 19 people dead, including minors, and 569 injured.
Some of these deaths occurred after clashes with the military, authorized to control internal security as part of the establishment of the state of emergency.
“It is only through calm, cordiality and a sincere and open dialogue that we will be able to work […] How can we fight among Peruvians, mess up our institutions, block the roads? “, she said.
The president explained that if the armed forces took to the streets, “it was to take care of and protect” the citizens “because this situation [les manifestations] spiraling out of control” with “violent groups”.
“These groups did not appear overnight, they had tactically organized roadblocks,” she added.
The protesters are demanding the release of deposed President Pedro Castillo, the resignation of Ms Boluarte, the closure of Parliament and an immediate general election.
The most intense protests have been in Peru’s poverty-stricken southern Andean region, where social grievances have been put on hold.
Ms. Boluarte, from Apurímac, one of the conflict zones, delivered part of her message in Quechua, a language spoken by a large Andean part of the country.
The protests erupted after Mr. Castillo, a left-wing, rural and modest-income teacher, tried to stage a self-coup on December 7, shut down parliament, intervene in public authorities and to govern by decree.
He was arrested in “flagrante delicto” while trying to reach the Mexican embassy to seek asylum.
Justice decided Thursday that he would remain in prison for 18 months, until June 2024, in order to be charged with rebellion.
200 tourists evacuated to Machu Picchu
Some 200 tourists stranded in the famous Machu Picchu region due to protests across the country were evacuated on Saturday, AFP found.
On board a train, they arrived near the town of Piscacucho, in the region of Cuzco (south), where a huge rock blocked the passage.
From there, tourists — including North Americans and Europeans — walked about two kilometers to board buses heading to the city of Cusco, which has an international airport.
The mayor of the village near Machu Picchu, Darwin Baca, told AFP that “5,000 tourists” were stranded in Cuzco.
At least 622 tourists, including 525 foreigners, including around fifteen French people, were stranded on the famous site, according to a census of the municipality. The train, which had been stopped since Tuesday, is the only modern way to get to the citadel from Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, 110 km away.
The army promised to send a helicopter on Saturday which will provide “four humanitarian flights for the transfer of tourists” from Machu Picchu to Cuzco, according to the municipality, which specifies that priority will be given to families with “children and vulnerable people”.
The airport of Cuzco, the tourist capital of the country, reopened on Friday afternoon, allowing the start of the evacuation of tourists, according to images released by the Peruvian Ministry of Defense.