Crisis in Peru: the holiday truce ends and protests in favor of Castillo are renewed

After the respite for the Christmas and New Year holidays, it is estimated that this Wednesday Protests will start again in Peru in favor of former president Pedro Castillo, in a clear sign that the political crisis that unleashed at the end of 2022 continues without subsiding, already with the new interim president, Dina Boluarte.

For this reason, various conservative political sectors have defined this Tuesday as a “peace march” in several cities in Peru, an event that has been the subject of controversy since the very beginning after the National Police spoke for the first time in favor of this march. , only to backtrack a few hours later.

Several organizations and conservative political leaders had asked for the support of the population for the “peace march”, which will cover various avenues in downtown Lima and in other parts of the country, one day before the end of the truce granted to the government due to the protest mobilizations in December.

However, the most striking thing of the call had been the call through social networks by the general of the Criminal Investigation Directorate (Dirincri), Óscar Arriola, to “all Peruvians” to come and mobilize from 3pm local time.

“Not one more drop of blood. Not one more wounded Peruvian. No to violence,” Arriola asked in a video shared by the State Police in reference to the 28 deceased in the protests that took place after the removal of former president Pedro Castillo.

Arriola’s call generated widespread criticism, and on Monday the Peruvian National Police (PNP) asked members of the force to not promote or participate in the event.

“It has been ordered that members of the National Police of Peru refrain from promoting the active and organized participation of the community in the activities planned for Tuesday,” the institution said in a statement.

The Pnp has removed from its social networks the invitation to “be part of this great march for peace that will take place in the main squares of cities nationwide”, made public last Saturday and repeated in the following days.

Alert for new protests

Facing the end of the year-end truce, Dina Boluarte’s government plans to reactivate anti-government protests this Wednesday in the southern part of the countrythe main focus of the demonstrations which add up to 28 dead, five of them minors.

Given the announcement by several federations and unions to resume protests this Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior, Víctor Rojas, traveled this Sunday to the southern departments of Arequipa and Puno to coordinate actions with the authorities of the region in the face of a possible escalation of violence.

Furthermore, it is still in force the decree on the state of emergency which allows the Armed Forces to support the PNP to maintain internal order in the country.

Those who participate in the demonstrations unleashed after the failed self-coup attempt by Pedro Castillo ask for the dismissal of Boluartethe electoral advance, the closure of the Congress and the convening of a constituent assembly.

In this sense, the PNP has renewed its commitment to “guarantee internal order and social peace in the national territory” in compliance with “fundamental rights and constitutional freedoms”.

Source: EFE