In a letter, Castillo describes Boluarte as a ‘usurper’ and says he will not resign.

Peru’s ousted president, Pedro Castillo, posted a handwritten letter on social networks today in which he said he would not resign, describing the new president and his vice-president, Dina Boluarte, as a “usurper”. He has been in detention since Wednesday (7), where he is expected to remain in detention for 7 days.

“I am unconditionally committed to the popular and constitutional authority I have as president, and I will not resign or relinquish my sacred duties.” Castillo was dismissed by Congress last Wednesday on the grounds that he lacked the moral capacity to run the country. The president of the time had tried to dissolve the Parliament hours before he lost his office. Boluarte was sworn in for the Presidency as a deputy.

The former president also said, referring to Boluarte, that “the usurper” uttered the same lines as the “putschist right”. “The people should not be deceived by the dirty new electoral games. Enough of the abuses! Now the Constituent Assembly! Freedom immediately!”, he wrote.

The new president had dismissed the possibility of pushing the country’s elections forward, but he backed out. Earlier this morning, Boluarte said he would submit a bill to Parliament to bring the election to April 2024 after demonstrations in several cities across the country that killed two people.

He said on Thursday (8th) that his demand for the new election was democratic, but that his role was to “redirect the country”. The nomination period in Castillo is expected to last until 2026.

The new head of the Peruvian government announced on Saturday (10) his cabinet, which consists of 19 ministers. The selected profiles point to a technical rather than political group trying to quell a country’s anger.

“The conditions under which I assumed this responsibility were not good, and therefore I am dispatching and serving to meet the needs of the country,” said the President. “Further on, we will look at alternatives to improve the fate of the country.”

protests

Demonstrations escalated in many cities in the north and south of the Andes region to reject Congress and also demand the release of former leftist president Pedro Castillo. In the city of Andahuaylas in the south of the Andes, the Ministry of Interior said two people were killed and five injured, including a police officer, after heavy clashes as protesters attempted to storm the city’s airport.

Riot police were dispatched to the airport to suppress thousands of demonstrators in Andahuaylas, Boluarte’s hometown of Apurimac region. According to RPP radio, the police station in Huancabamba, a town in the Apurímac region, was set on fire.

Clashes in Andahuaylas on Saturday ended with 16 civilians and four police officers injured. Thousands of people protested in the streets of Cajamarca, Arequipa, Tacna, Andahuaylas, Huancayo, Cusco and Puno.

(with AFP and RFI)