Thousands of protesters took part Saturday in the center of Lima in, according to the organizers, “the largest” demonstration bringing together “all the communities” since the beginning of the mobilization in December, which has already killed 48 people, against the president Dina Boluarte.
Peasant unions, civil organizations and student movements from the Andean regions of Cusco and Puno, in the south of the country, as well as residents of the capital Lima converged on the Plaza Dos de Mayo to demand, once again, the resignation of Ms. Boluarte and the dissolution of Parliament.
After dark, the police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators advancing towards Parliament and the Government Palace. The protesters, equipped with homemade helmets and shields, confronted the police by shooting fireworks in particular.
“Today, all the communities are outside,” assured a student representative, as the discontent of the Andean countryside was heard, overwhelmed by poverty despite the richness of its land in natural resources.
“We will not give up this struggle, those who must give up are the usurper [Mme Boluarte] and Parliament, who are doing everything to avoid having to improve our situation. They are only stealing from us and giving our wealth to companies that are not Peruvian,” Romina Cuno, a 37-year-old peasant from Puno, told AFP.
Demonstrators from other remote regions of Peru also joined the demonstration, as well as residents of poor neighborhoods in the north of Lima who arrived running and chanting “sí se puede” (yes we can), while waving Peruvian flags and the wiphala, the Andean flag, AFP journalists reported.
At the same time, another demonstration took place in the streets of downtown Lima, with around 50 people who identified themselves as the “Patriotic Legion”, claiming to defend the Peruvian police “for their actions against subversive terrorists”.
This demonstration was held the day after the decision of the Peruvian Parliament to block until August any debate aimed at advancing the presidential and legislative elections to October 2023.
The proposal to advance the polls, presented by President Boluarte, was rejected for the fourth time by the legislative body.
The unrest erupted after the dismissal and arrest on December 7 of the previous socialist leader Pedro Castillo, accused of having attempted a coup in order to dissolve the Parliament which was preparing to oust him from power.