LPresident Dina Boluarte said on Saturday she would remain in charge of Peru, a country rocked by deadly protests since her predecessor was deposed and arrested on December 7, and where 200 tourists stranded in the Machu Picchu region were able to be evacuated on Saturday.
In a new attempt to end the crisis and the protests, Ms Boluarte has asked Parliament to bring forward the general elections.
“What would my resignation solve? We are going to stay here, firm, until the Congress decides to advance the elections (…) I ask that we reconsider the vote” of Friday, when the Parliament pronounced against the advancement of the general elections from 2026 to 2023, she pleaded.
Assembly Speaker Jose Williams said Friday that the vote should be reconsidered at a future session.
In a televised message to the nation, Mrs. Boluarte – vice-president of Peru until the dismissal of Pedro Castillo – deplored the demonstrations which left at least 19 dead and 569 injured, including minors.
Some deaths are linked to clashes with the military, authorized to intervene to maintain internal security as part of the establishment of the state of emergency for a period of thirty days.
“It is only through calm and a sincere and open dialogue that we will be able to work (…) How can we fight between Peruvians, spoil our institutions, block the roads?”, She launched.
“Uncontrollable situation”
The president explained that if the armed forces took to the streets, “it was to protect” the citizens “because the situation was getting out of control”. She denounced the presence of organized “violent groups”.
“These groups did not appear overnight, they had tactically organized roadblocks,” she said.
The protesters are demanding the release of ousted President Pedro Castillo, the resignation of Ms Boluarte, the dissolution of Parliament and an immediate general election.
The most intense protests have taken place in the poverty-stricken Andean region of southern Peru, where social grievances have long gone unaddressed.
Ms. Boluarte, from Apurimac, 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 tried to dissolve parliament on December 7 and rule by decree.
A former left-wing teacher from a rural and modest background, he was arrested when he tried to reach the Mexican embassy to seek asylum.
Initially imprisoned for seven days, justice decided Thursday that he would remain in prison for eighteen months, until June 2024, in order to be charged with rebellion. He faces a ten-year prison sentence, according to prosecutor Alcides Diaz, in charge of the case.
200 tourists evacuated
Some 200 tourists stranded in the famous Machu Picchu region due to protests were evacuated on Saturday, AFP noted.
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 for the city of Cusco, which has an international airport.
Avis Berney, a 77-year-old American retiree who arrived at Machu Picchu on December 12, was among them.
“Because of the protests, the train couldn’t leave, there were rocks on the track. They wanted to evacuate us by helicopter but because of the weather they couldn’t,” she said. at AFP.
Alex Lim, a 41-year-old Canadian tourist, who was traveling with his wife, also said he was relieved.
“We were worried. I didn’t bring my blood pressure medication and we only had clothes for one day. I’m happy to be back in Cuzco,” he said.
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Luis Fernando Helguero welcomed the happy ending for these tourists.
“With the support of the police and the armed forces we were able to repair the railway”, now accessible to Piscacucho, 29 km from Machu Picchu, explained to AFP the minister who supervised the restoration work. function.
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.
18/12/2022 05:51:42 – Piscacucho (Perú) (AFP) – © 2022 AFP