Bloody day in the crisis in Peru: 20 have already died in protests after the failed coup in Castillo

Peru already looks like a country at war. The political and social crisis that erupted after former President Pedro Castillo’s failed coup had its bloodiest day this Friday with eight deaths rounding off 20 deaths since the beginning of the protests two weeks ago, mainly concentrated in the interior of the country.

The main clashes of this day between supporters of the deposed president and those arrested took place in Ayacucho, 560 kilometers south of the country. There have also been incidents with another death in Junín, 230 kilometers from this capital.

Castillo sent several communications from his place of detention, but none of them asked for appeasement, quite the opposite.

For President Dina Boluarte, former vice president of the coup plotter, the situation becomes an increasingly complex challenge in her attempt to restore public order. In this effort, you have decreed a state of emergency which rights suspended such as that of assembly and free transit, and sent the armed forces to collaborate with the police. That format aggravated the crisis.

Thursday evening he had to dictate the curfew in 15 provinces and already with the first victims in the cabinet due to violence, the ministers of education and culture, recently appointed to the emergency cabinet which he had to designate after taking over the government in the midst of the crisis, resigned.

Castillo’s followers in the poor interior of the country where he had his electoral wealth in 2021, They are calling for their release, the closure of Congress, the convening of a Constituent Assembly and early elections.. This last point may be the only one that Peruvian politics would yield to him, even if not quickly.

Boluarte took office on Wednesday last week when the former president surprised the country with a televised message in which he ordered the closure of the legislature, a curfew and announced the implementation of the a de facto governmenturgently and by decree.

A hit over the line similar to that carried out by former dictator Alberto Fujimori, with whom he currently shares prison after the attempt was deactivated in just two hours due to the refusal of the armed forces to join the rebellion.

Baluarte, who had signaled his initial intention to serve out Castillo’s term until 2026, had to quickly backtrack. The violent protests on Saturday and Sunday with the first two dead They forced her to bury that dream and anticipate that she would send a bill to Congress to call an election in April 2024.

Since that wasn’t enough to calm spirits, the election could now be in December 2023 or predictably sooner.

legislative failure

The early call bill began discussions on Thursday in the highly discredited unicameral Congress, but lawmakers on Friday They refused in principle to approve it by 49 votes to 33 with 25 abstentions.

The strategy for delaying the decision is to wait for concessions such as a re-election authorization that would facilitate the possibility of retaining seats. If the announcement of early elections does not calm the interior of the country It is among other reasons because of Castillo’s known militancy inciting protesters.

The former president boasts popular leadership that he has practically never exercised in government. It wasn’t there in all its troubled management no concrete action towards his constituents, nor did he keep his electoral promises despite enormous counter-pressure from Parliament, dominated by the right-wing opposition.

In addition to the marches, there is also looting such as the one that occurred against the Gloria food company in Arequipa, cell phone tracking in other locations and attacks on airports. In Lima, the country’s most important air base, it only accepts ticketed passengers, with no family members at the farewell party.

Time is tense and since the decree of the State of Emergency for 30 days for all of Peru, the armed forces opposed to the coup have begun to collaborate with the National Police. The country awoke thus militarized. There are soldiers and tanks from downtown Lima inland.

The protest in Ayacucho had begun peacefully on Thursday, up to the demonstrators they tried to take the airport Local. It’s the same method they used in Arequipa, Cusco, Andahuaylas and Juliaca: vandalizing the airports, which are still closed today.

According to the police they used rocks and homemade explosives. The security forces repressed harshly and, as confirmed by the Regional Health Directorate of Ayacucho, the rest of eight people were killed and injured.

With the news of the first deaths, the anger intensified and the demonstrators attacked the public prosecutor’s office, where they set fire to the main gate, part of some offices and parked vehicles, as well as the headquarters of the prosecutor’s office and the peace courts.

A worsening outlook

But the outlook could be worse. The regional governor of Ayacucho, Carlos Rúa, stressed that two of the wounded must be urgently evacuated to Lima: “The death toll is likely to rise,” put on guard.

In turn, the ombudsman’s office, an independent body, has launched a tough lawsuit against the government. “After the deaths of two people and dozens injured during the attempt to take control of the airport by protesters, we ask that the Joint Command immediate cessation of the use of firearms and tear gas dropped by helicopters,” he urged.

Subsequently, it issued another long document in which it is requested that “the use of force be carried out in strict compliance with the parameters established by current legislation”.

With the death toll at 20, Education Minister Patricia Correa, who took office on Saturday, has resigned. “The death of compatriots there is no justification. State violence cannot be disproportionate and cause death,” she said online.

It was then followed by the head of Culture. Also, this Friday in Ayacucho there was a new march with the slogan “Army = Repression”. To complete the picture there are 250 injured citizens, 216 hospitalized policemen and pickets are multiplying.

Meanwhile, police cleared checkpoints on the Pan-American highways north and south of the country. This Friday there was an important one in Ocoña, near Arequipa, 800 kilometers south of Lima. With illegal mining dynamite they dropped large stones on the track.

The municipality issued a statement asking residents to use water rationally because due to the cut they no longer have fuel to operate the pump that supplies water to the population.

After midnight and with the number of victims in Ayacucho, Boluarte spoke on social networks. But before that message, the president elaborated on the measures with the curfew for the most convulsive regions of Cusco, Arequipa, Ica, La Libertad, Apurímac, Puno, Huancavelica and Ayacucho.

The decree establishes a curfew from the afternoon to four in the morning in 15 provinces. “To declare for a period of five calendar days, compulsory social immobilization of all people in their homesin the context of the State of emergency during compulsory social immobilisation”, indicates the text.

He adds: “People can travel on public-use roads for the acquisition, production and supply of food, which includes storage and distribution for sale to the public.” And another blow of the crisis is received by tourism.

This Friday the Cusco airport was closed for five days and the regional governor Jean Paul Benavente García stressed that there are more than six thousand tourists blocked only in that region. In total, 109,000 passengers are affected by 843 canceled flights.

LIME. SPECIAL DELIVERY