The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, has announced that she will present to parliament a bill to bring forward the elections to April 2024 after the protests that developed throughout the country and the clash between Pedro Castillo’s defenders and the police, which caused the death of two citizens.
“By interpreting the will of the citizenry in the broadest way and, consequently, with the responsibility that the exercise of government action entails, I have decided to take the initiative to reach an agreement with the Congress of the Republic for bring forward the general election for April 2024Boluarte said so in a message to the nation broadcast on television in the first few minutes of Monday.
And he added: “In the coming days I will present to Congress a bill to bring forward the general elections to be agreed with the political forces represented in Parliament”.
“My government will promote the consultation in the Congress of the Republic of a law to reform the political system that allows Peruvians to have a more efficient, transparent and participatory government system, free from the practice of corruption and legitimized by citizen participation,” he concluded.
The proposal means reducing his mandate by two years and tries to appease the indignation of the population who are calling for immediate joint presidential and legislative elections.
Boluarte, who took over Wednesday after then-President Pedro Castillo’s failed coup, announced he was declaring a state of emergency in areas of the country where violent protests are taking place.
“With the same patriotic sense, I announce the declaration of a state of emergency in areas of high social conflict to peacefully regain control of internal order,” he said. The new president lamented the death of two protesters in Andahuaylas.
On Sunday afternoon, rural residents vandalized the Andahuaylas airport, 800 kilometers south of Lima, in their bid to demand elections and Boluarte’s resignation.
Following the clashes, the State Police confirmed one victim: a minor of 15 years. After 18:30, they confirmed the death of another 18-year-old boy. “During the demonstrations recorded in Apurímac, so far 3 people have been hospitalized, 25 medical discharges and 2 dead,” reported the Ministry of Health.
For the fourth consecutive day, the defenders of the former president who claims to be the victim of a “Machiavellian plan” against him conceived by Boluarte, president of Congress and Justice, protested in the streets of Lima and clashed with the police who fired tear gas in front of the Lima parliament.
Many of the protesters are calling for the release of Pedro Castillo, the centre-left president who was ousted by lawmakers on Wednesday after trying to dissolve Congress before voting on whether to impeach him.
In Congress, the situation this Sunday was no less tense, because the session in which it was supposed to discuss whether to remove the immunity of the ousted president to advance the judicial process ended in a scandal, with beatings among the legislators.
Congress lifts Castillo’s special jurisdiction
The Peruvian Congress approved in the early hours of this Monday the draft legislative resolution authorizing the revocation of a special jurisdiction to the former president Pedro Castillodenounced by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the alleged crime of rebellion after ordering the closure of Parliament and the establishment of an emergency government.
The draft resolution, approved with 67 votes in favor and 45 against, proposed revoking Castillo’s political impeachment prerogative and initiating criminal proceedings, given that the deposed former president is in preventive detention for seven days for flagrante delicto which expires next Wednesday.
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Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.