Crisis in Peru: a woman died in a clash between protesters and police in the south of the country

A clash between protesters and police in Macusani in southern Peru resulted in the death of a woman and left another person injured. It all happened in the context of protests calling for the resignation of the Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte.

The San Martín de Porres hospital of that Andean city reported, in a statement, that the victim was a woman of around 35, identified as Sonia Aguilar Quispe, a resident of the Ayapata district, who “He was admitted to the emergency room with no vital signs.“.

At the same time, the health center specified that it had also received Salomón Valenzuela Chua, a 30-year-old man who was left with reserved prognosis after presenting “open chest trauma”.

“Currently, the health personnel are ensuring timely treatment to the injured person who remains hospitalized, we ask the population to remain calm and avoid situations that put their lives and physical integrity at risk”, concludes the hospital statement.

This new death in southern Peru brought the total death toll to 52 during the anti-government protests that began last December across Peru.

Shortly after confirming that woman’s death, a mob burned a police station and a seat of the Judiciary, according to local media. Police officers were rescued by helicopter for their lives during the attack on the police force headquarters, N TV channel reported.

In this regard, the president of the Judiciary, Javier Arévalo, declared al channel no who in the Macusani mixed and criminal court set fire to the “archives”

Arévalo said he has seen “a pattern” of attacks on security institutions and the judiciary in anti-government protests since they began in December.

“It is a pattern that I see, that the Judiciary, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police are attacking, it seems that someone is trying to destroy the actions of the Justice and the investigation to hide something and this is worrying,” he remarked.

The president of the Judiciary remarked that citizens “can assert their rights”, considering that “they are not responsible for these acts”.

He argued that similar attacks have occurred in other southern regions such as Cuzco, Apurímac or Ayacucho, and asked the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, “to act, not repressive, not to kill and shoot people, but rather to strike the right balance and establish order” in the country.

The clashes this Wednesday in Macusani took place on the eve of a great march in Lima and a national strike.

“The struggle will continue,” warned a union leader

Meanwhile, the secretary general of the Confederation of Workers of Peru, Gerónimo López, has warned that the marches will continue until obtain the resignation of the president.

“The struggle of the Peruvian people does not end tomorrow, the fight will continue if you mean that Ms. Dina Boluarte does not listen to people,” he said at a news conference.

The General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) called a nationwide strike and mobilization on Thursday afternoon in Lima.

“It is a fair and democratic mobilization of the citizens who have come from the regions and also from here, from Lima, where they are demanding the immediate resignation of Dina Boluarte, the calling of new elections this year 2023 and the closing of the Congress”. she added.

Peru has been experiencing intense protests since the first week of December, when Congress ousted leftist President Pedro Castillo over a failed coup in which he attempted to close parliament, rule by decree and convene a constituent assembly.

The epicenter of the protests is Puno, a region of indigenous Aymara and historically neglected.

Vice-President Dina Boluarte replaced Castillo, in accordance with the law, but the high human cost of the crackdown by law enforcement ignited outrage against him.

The protests began in the Andean areas of southern Peru and spread to Lima.

Boluarte has said he will not resign and has proposed that the right-dominated Congress bring forward elections to April 2024 instead of holding them in 2026, when his term expires.

With information from EFE and AFP.

IS