Two people, including a teenager, were killed during protests against new president Dina Boluarte in Peru. Five other people were injured in the southern city of Andahuaylas, police said. Participants in national demonstrations on Sunday called for fresh elections and the release of former president Pedro Castillo, who has been in custody since Thursday. They also called for Boluarte’s resignation and called for a nationwide strike. The new head of state has meanwhile announced that he will support the re-election of Congress by April 2024 at the latest.
The new Peruvian head of state, Dina Boluarte, has come under a lot of pressure since she took office
In Andahuaylas, protesters attacked police officers with stones and emergency services responded with tear gas. Protesters also stormed the city’s airport, partially setting it on fire. According to a statement from the airport and the Corpac airline, 50 police and Corpac employees were temporarily held hostage at the airport. The fuel depot was set on fire. The airport has been closed and an elite unit is currently patrolling the area.
Fistfights in Parliament in Lima
Already on Saturday, 16 civilians and four policemen were injured during protests in Andahuaylas. Andahuaylas in the Apurimac region is home to Boluarte. In Huancabamba, another Apurimac city, a police station was set on fire, according to radio station RPP.
Clash between protesters and police officers in the Peruvian capital Lima
Thousands also took to the streets in other Peruvian cities, including Cajamarca, Arequipa, Andahuaylas, Tacna, Cusco and Puno. In the capital Lima, between 1,000 and 2,000 people demonstrated in front of the congress building and shouted “Castillo, you are not alone, the people are behind you”. An emergency session in parliament on the situation in the country was interrupted on Sunday evening following fisticuffs. Images posted online showed one deputy punching another from behind, resulting in a melee.
Castillo in prison since last week
Castillo was removed from office on Wednesday by the Peruvian parliament for “moral incompetence” and subsequently arrested. His previous deputy, Boluarte, was sworn in as his successor shortly thereafter. On Thursday, the country’s Supreme Court said it had ordered Castillo seven days in pre-trial detention. The leftist politician is accused of “rebellion and conspiracy”.
Castillo was only elected head of state in July 2021 as a political outsider. Since then, the 53-year-old has been in a constant power struggle with the conservative-dominated Congress. He had already tried twice in vain to remove him from office for “moral incompetence”.
sti/pg (afp, dpa)
