Peru experienced another day of extreme tension this Monday, not even softened by the announcement by President Dina Boluarte that she will promote the advancement of the elections to April 2024due to the growing protests by thousands of supporters of ex-president Pedro Castillo in several cities and regions, which included blockades of roads and airport and university occupations. Three protesters died this Monday in protests demanding the resignation of Boluarte in the departments of Arequipa y apurimacwhich brought the total number of deaths in Peru in the last 48 hours to five.
One of the deaths occurred in ArequipaPeru’s second city, during the police repression to recover the runway of the local airport, taken over by some 1,500 protesters. The other two deaths took place in a march repelled by riot police in Chincherosdepartment of Apurímac, the cradle of Boluarte.
In Chincheros, the demonstrators set fire to the premises of the Public Ministry and the police station. “We need support in Chincheros! Have a helicopter come to disperse the people. We are only 30 troops. We are already running out of ammunition, we have wounded police officers,” a police officer from Chincheros requested in an audio leaked by the press. The Ombudsman, Eliana Revollar, denounced in statements to the press that “neither the police nor the states of emergency Throughout the history of conflict that the Ombudsman has on record, they have resolved conflicts or crises”.
This Monday a group of protesters attacked and tried to occupy the Arequipa airport to demand the calling of elections and the closure of Congress. Local media reported that Hundreds of protesters entered the airport runway and caused some damageuntil they were evicted by police and members of the Armed Forces.
The airport was closed and evacuated after protesters entered its facilities “destroying the security infrastructure and setting fire to the control booth,” said Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú, the company that manages Arequipa’s Alfredo Rodríguez Ballón airport, while media Locals reported at least four injured in clashes with the police, in addition to the death, confirmed hours later, of one of the protesters.
Also in Arequipa the Gloria dairy factory, one of the mostlargest in the country, was forcibly occupied by protesters. Local media reported that hundreds of people crowded in front of the dairy plant where they destroyed and burned factory material, including a company truck. The workers of the Gloria company from other parts of that department were evicted for security reasons and to avoid similar situations.
The spiral of violence is such that, in the middle of the funeral procession of the two who died in the protests on Sunday in the Peruvian town of Andahuaylas, police officers repressed the citizens. The coffins were transferred, on shoulders, to the city police station when personnel policeman fired tear gas and shots into the air.
In the meantime, students occupied the university of Cajamarca and tried to do the same in the houses of study in Jaén and Chota. In all cases, the call for elections in 2023 and the closure of Congress was repeated, although lukewarm defenses by Castillo were mixed in some of the protests.
RPP radio reported two roadblocks in Trujillo, four in Puno, seven in Ucayali, ten in Arequipa, one in Tacna, seven in Abancay and six in Ica, while passenger transport did not arrive or leave Cusco, the main city country tourism. The picture could worsen if the agrarian unions and peasant and indigenous organizations comply with their announcement of indefinite strike starting Tuesdayin this case with the extra fact that the group demands the “immediate freedom” of Castillo.
State of emergency
Boluarte’s announcement of the sending to Congress of a bill to advance the elections from April 2026 to April 2024 did not calm the protesters, who are demanding the release of Castillo, the closure of Parliament and new elections. Attention is focused on the reaction of Congress to the proposal for early elections, since it implies that they cut their term in two years.
To cut mandates, such as the presidential and legislative, it is necessary to do so in two consecutive legislatures, a process that can last up to a year, according to Peruvian law. And to call early elections, a constitutional reform is necessary.
In an attempt to stem the wave of protests The government dismissed the country’s 26 regional prefects on Mondayappointed by the Castillo government, under the argument that they “incite protests”. Boluarte also declared a state of emergency “in areas of high social conflict.”
In the meantime the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights declared itself “deeply concerned about the possibility of an escalation of violence”. In a statement issued in Geneva, the office said that “given the number of protests, including strikes, expected this week, we call on all involved to exercise restraint.”