(Lima) Peruvian President Dina Boluarte called on Tuesday for a “national truce” as protests demanding her departure and the dissolution of parliament continue unabated and have already claimed 46 lives.
“I call on my dear homeland for a national truce” to “restore dialogue”, “set an agenda for each region” and “develop” the country, she declared during an intervention before the foreign press.
“I will never tire of calling for dialogue, peace and unity,” she added, repeating almost word for word a sentence already pronounced on January 20 during a television intervention.
“I have no intention of staying in power,” she said, saying she wanted to respect the Constitution and step down in elections that have been brought forward to 2024.
“Would my resignation solve the crisis and the violence? Who would assume the presidency of the Republic? “, she questioned.
Visibly moved, M.me Boluarte also asked “forgiveness for the dead”.
The demonstrators tirelessly demand his resignation, the dissolution of Parliament and the creation of a Constituent Assembly.
The unrest began on December 7 after the dismissal and arrest of left-wing President Pedro Castillo, accused of having attempted a coup d’etat in order to dissolve the Parliament which was about to oust him from power.
Former vice-president of Mr. Castillo, with whom she was elected on the same ticket in 2021, Mme Boluarte, underlined that she had Andean origins like him.
“It suited him to make this coup in order to victimize himself and move all this paramilitary apparatus and not answer to the prosecutor for the acts of corruption of which he is accused. There are no victims here, Mr. Castillo: there is a country that is bleeding because of your irresponsibility,” she said.
The crisis is also a reflection of the huge rift between the capital and the poor provinces that supported President Castillo and saw his election as revenge for what they see as Lima’s contempt.
A large demonstration bringing together thousands of poor protesters from the Andean regions was to take place in the afternoon in Lima.