Peru

‘So They Can See Us’: Peru’s National Protest Advances To Lima

February 2, 2023 Teri Mattson, WTF is Going on in Latin America and the Caribbean. Podcast – WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean coup, National Strike, Peru, State Repression

Deadly protests have gripped Peru since Congress expelled the country's first working-class president, Pedro Castillo. Timeline of events since December 7, 2022: Dec 7, 2022: The surprise winner of the July 2021 presidential election, Castillo comes under immediate attack from the right. On December 7 he attempts to dissolve Congress before it can debate a third impeachment motion against him and says he will form an emergency government and rule by decree. Dec 7: Lawmakers vote overwhelmingly to remove him from office for "moral incapacity" to exercise power. He is arrested for "rebellion". Vice President Dina Boluarte becomes Peru's first woman president. She says she intends to serve out the rest of Castillo's term, until July 2026. The United States pledges to work with Boluarte.

Protests And Repression In Peru’s Capital Intensify

January 31, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! Peru, Protests, State Repression, Violence

55-year-old Víctor Santisteban Yacsavilca was declared dead on Saturday, January 28, after he was shot in the head with a pellet gun by the National Police of Peru. Yacsavilca is the first protester to die in Peru’s capital Lima since the protests against the coup began in December. Videos of him being shot show him standing with a group of journalists, medical brigade members, and other protesters, and falling to the ground immediately when police begin shooting at the group. Subsequent videos show a large pool of blood on the ground where Yacsavilca fell. His death occurred on one of the bloodiest nights to date in Peru’s capital. January 28 began with a mass march in the center of the city with traditional dances, songs, and chants, but after a couple hours the events turned ugly. Once night fell, police ramped up their repression of the protests by shooting tear gas and pellet guns at protesters, press, human rights defenders, and medical brigades.

Mass Mobilizations Continue In Peru Against Dina Boluarte

January 28, 2023 Tanya Wadhwa, People's Dispatch. Resist! Dina Boluarte, Human Rights, National Strike, Peru

According to the National Human Rights Coordinator of Peru (CNDDHH), in the past 50 days of social protests, 56 people, including seven minors, were killed and 912 people were injured. In Peru’s capital Lima, massive mobilizations have occurred daily for the past week to demand the resignation of de-facto president Dina Boluarte, the closure of the right-wing dominated Congress, early general elections, and a new constitution through a Constituent Assembly. Peaceful mobilizations were also recorded in Piura and Tacna regions. On Thursday January 26, protesters marched along the Panamerican highway from the north of Lima to Plaza Dos de Mayo and Plaza San Martín. The marches in the capital have seen widespread participation from students and workers in the city, but have been largely composed of the delegations of peasant, Indigenous, and trade union organizations who arrived to Lima from Puno, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, and other regions to bring their demands to the seat of government.

Peruvians Protest Against US Embassy In Lima

January 26, 2023 Kawsachun News. Resist! Coups, Peru, Protests, US Imperialism

Social movements from across Peru are protesting outside the US embassy in Lima to condemn the US role in the coup against Pedro Castillo. The main chant from protesters is, “Yanqui murderers, get out of Peru!” “We’re here because we love our country (..) that’s why we’re here outside the US embassy because we know that it was through the US embassy that Dina Boluarte and [Prime Minister] Otarola made deals to be protected by that country,” said one protester from the Sandia province, Puno. “The US embassy has always tried to control us (..) we’ve had enough of being dominated by the US, we want to be a free country, a free Peru, with sovereignty. We mustn’t surrender, this mobilization is in defense of our natural resources, to close congress, the resignation of Dina Boluarte, a new constitution, general elections”, said another protester to Radio Pachamama.

Peruvian Police Intervene At San Marcos University In Lima

January 22, 2023 Telesur English. Educate! Peru, Police, State Repression

The Peruvian National Police (PNP) entered this Saturday the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, where Peruvians from different regions who came to Lima to demonstrate against the regime of Dina Boluarte are staying. Elements of the police violently entered and subdued student and social leaders who had organized for the university campus to host the caravans of indigenous communities that arrived in the capital for the massive protests against the Peruvian government. They have also arrested several people, have thrown them to the ground and are stealing donations and their belongings, according to complaints posted on social networks. A person staying at the student residence of the San Marcos University says that there is no prosecutor during the violent operation of eviction of protesters on campus, where they were staying with permission of the university authorities.

Peru: CIA-Linked US Ambassador Meets With Mining And Energy Ministers

January 20, 2023 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy Report. Resistance Report Energy, Mining, Peru, US Imperialism

The US ambassador in Peru, Lisa Kenna, is a CIA veteran who supported a parliamentary coup in December 2022 that overthrew the South American nation’s democratically elected left-wing president, Pedro Castillo. Castillo was subsequently imprisoned for 18 months without due process, setting off massive protests across Peru. The unelected government responded with extreme violence, killing approximately 50 protesters in just over a month. One day before the December 7 coup, the former CIA officer turned US ambassador met with Peru’s defense minister, who subsequently told the country’s powerful military to turn against President Castillo. Since then, Kenna has been quite busy, regularly meeting with top officials in Peru’s coup government, including unelected President Dina Boluarte and her ministers.

Tens Of Thousands On The Streets Of Peru In National Strike

January 20, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! Democracy, Mass Action, Peru, Solidarity

Tens of thousands of Peruvians from across the country arrived in the capital Lima to take part in a national strike called for today, January 19, to reject the legislative coup against former president Pedro Castillo and demand the immediate resignation of the de-facto president Dina Boluarte. Peasant and Indigenous communities together with members of numerous social organizations and trade unions from all regions of Peru traveled in caravans to reach Lima. The caravans were organized as a part of the second ‘Marcha de los Cuatro Suyos’ or ‘March from the Four Corners’ to bring the voices of the excluded masses of deep Peru to the seat of power. The organizations have called to hold marches from different parts of Lima to the center of the city against the Boluarte government under the banner of ‘Toma de Lima’ or ‘Taking of Lima.’

More Police Repression As Thousands March In Lima

January 20, 2023 Orinoco Tribune. Resist! coup, Dina Boluarte, Peru, State Repression

This Wednesday, for the second edition of the historic “March of the Four of Them” that, in 2000, with an unprecedented popular mobilization, demanded the departure of Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, thousands of demonstrators continued to arrive in Lima, the capital of the country, to demand the resignation of Dina Boluarte, de facto head of state after the overthrow of President Pedro Castillo. Impressive images show the mobilization from the south of the country to the capital on the Pacific coast. The march occurs in the face of militarization country, marked by the attempt of security forces to create a perimeter around Lima, an action that has been denounced by the demonstrators joined by trade unions, campesinos, and social movements. In just six weeks—two of them relatively calm due to a Christmas truce—more than 50 Peruvians have been killed by police and military forces, most of them murdered with live ammunition.

Repression Of Dissent Following The Illegal Removal Of President Castillo

January 15, 2023 Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Educate! coup, Peru, State Repression, State Violence

Following the illegal removal of Pedro Castillo, the now President of Peru, Mrs. Dina Boluarte, has responded to the popular protests that paralyzed the country as of December 7, 2022 with the suspension of constitutional rights. That means the police can now stop anyone without a warrant; enter any residence and prevent any citizen from traveling freely within or outside of Peru. In addition, gatherings of any kind are prohibited. In areas located in 7 regions of Peru, for several weeks, the population has been prohibited from going out into the street and obligated to stay in their homes day and night. The first protests had the unfortunate consequences of 30 dead and countless wounded and imprisoned. Why? Because the repressive forces have used lethal weapons; they have shot at the body of the protesters, at the head and sometimes from behind.

Stop The Violence Against The Peruvian People

January 15, 2023 People's Dispatch. Resist! Journalists, Media, Peru, State Violence

The Peruvian people have been on the streets across the country to reject the coup that took constitutional president Pedro Castillo out of office on December 7. The Peruvian authorities have responded to these mass protests with brutal violence. As of today, Peruvian human rights organizations estimate that 48 people have been killed in the context of the protests and hundreds more have been injured. Mainstream, corporate media in Peru has helped reinforce the government’s narrative that those who are on the streets are “criminals”, “terrorists” and that their demands are illegitimate. Meanwhile, independent and alternative media outlets and journalists in the country who have been covering the protests, have faced threats, campaigns of slander and stigmatization, and physical attacks.

Peru: Police Brutality Leaves A Minor Dead In Cusco

January 13, 2023 Telesur English. Resist! coup, Peru, Police, State Repression

On Thursday, the Peruvian police used tear gas and firearms to harshly repress the population, leaving a minor dead and more than 50 people injured in the city of Cusco. Peruvians once again took to the streets in Lima and in various departments to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the holding of early general elections this year, and the release of former President Pedro Castillo. The National Human Rights Coordinator (CNDDHH) of Peru demanded the immediate release of the social leaders detained in Ayacucho during the protests against Boluarte. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Ayacucho police station to demand the release of the detained citizens, including the president of the Ayacucho People's Defense Front (FDPA).

Perú’s Prosecutor’s Office Initiates Investigation Against Boluarte

January 12, 2023 Orinoco Tribune. Resist! Dina Boluarte, Genocide, Legal System, Peru

This Tuesday, January 10, the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office ordered a preliminary investigation to be initiated against the de facto president, Dina Boluarte, for crimes of genocide, qualified homicide, and serious injuries, regarding the protests that have shaken the country after the ousting of Pedro Castillo as head of state. Several members of Boluarte’s cabinet will also be investigated, including the president of the council of ministers, Alberto Otárola, minister of the interior, Víctor Rojas, and minister of defense, Jorge Chávez, will also be investigated. In addition, the body ordered an investigation against Pedro Angulo, as former president of the council of ministers, and César Cervantes, as former minister of the interior. The measure will be applied in relation to “the alleged crimes of genocide, qualified homicide and serious injuries,” committed during the demonstrations in the months of December 2022 and January 2023, across the regions of Apurímac, La Libertad, Puno, Junín, Arequipa, and Ayacucho.

Peru: General Strike Continues Despite Repression

January 10, 2023 Kawsachun News. Resist! Coups, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Peru, Protests

The general strike against Peru’s coup regime is on its sixth consecutive day with barricades and roadblocks erected across the country. The weekend also saw countless illegal arrests of protesters and journalists. According to authorities, protesters have blocked highways at 45 different points. The indigenous Aymara region of Puno is the center of opposition to the regime, with the highest number of barricades erected along highways. The roads connecting Puno to Arequipa, Cusco, and the Amazon, are among those currently blocked. In Lima, 224 people were detained on Friday for participating in protests organized by workers’ unions. Nevertheless, the transport workers union has announced that they will join the general strike “if this is the only way for them to listen to us,” said their general secretary Ricardo Pareja.

Peru: Social Movements Declare National Strike

January 8, 2023 Orinoco Tribune. Resist! coup, Elections, Peru, Right wing politics

The indefinite national strike in Peru, called by various social movements of the country, has been continuing since January 4, in demand of a constituent assembly, the release of President Pedro Castillo from prison, and the resignation of de facto President Dina Boluarte and her illegitimate government. The strike has spread through the country, with the greatest presence in the departments of Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Puno, Cusco, and Tacna. The protesters demand the closing of the Congress, dominated by the ultra-right, which removed the democratically elected president, Pedro Castillo on December 7, 2022, and imposed his vice president, Dina Boluarte, as the de facto head of state of Peru.

Peru: General Strike Enters Day Three

January 7, 2023 Kawsachun News. Resist! Coups, General Strike, Mass Action, Peru

The general strike against Peru’s coup regime has entered its third consecutive day. The strike is growing and social movements are now demanding the resignation of the unelected president, Dina Boluarte. Other demands include; the release of former President Pedro Castillo, the closure of Congress, early general elections, and a constituent assembly. According to the government, as of today, protesters have blocked off highways at 46 points across the country. This is up from 37 yesterday, and 25 the day before. Mobilizations are stronger in the southern part of the country. Protests have taken place in the departments of Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Puno, Cuzco, and Tacna, also in the Amazonian city of Pucallpa.

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