In five years, Dina Boluarte is the sixth person to hold the presidency of the Republic of Peru. A lawyer with no political experience, she entered legal post after the December 7 sacking and arrest of the head of state, the socialist Pedro Castillo, of which she was vice-president. Mr Castillo, who was narrowly elected in July 2021, is accused of attempting a coup because in early December he wanted to dissolve parliament preparing to oust him from power. The seventeen months of his presidency were marked by incompetence and instability. But as a teacher of humble origins, he embodied a hope for the rural and indigenous populations of the poor and marginalized Andes to finally be heard by Lima’s powerful elites.
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Mr. Castillo’s dismissal sparked the revolt. Protest demonstrations and roadblocks continue to spread despite brutal repression. At least 48 people have died and hundreds injured since the events began. Police respond to stone throws by sometimes firing live ammunition. The interim president, a former ally of Mr Castillo who is now linked to the right in oppression, has become the target of protesters demanding his resignation. Ms Boluarte’s stance, which claims to have banned the use of deadly weapons, raises questions about her continued power.
With the UN Human Rights Office “extremely concerned about the escalation of violence” and the Peruvian prosecutor’s office launching “genocide” investigations, it is time to stop the deadly downforce and find means other than violence as a way out of the crisis, in a country already horribly tested by Covid – where the mortality rate per capita is the highest in the world. Without waiting until April 2024, a deadline now brought forward, new elections must be held.
Mediocrity, amateurism and corruption
The crisis of Peru’s democracy, which is particularly worrying in the regional context of the attempted destabilization against Brazilian President Lula, has deep roots. The country has never regained stability since democracy returned in 2000 after the escape of autocrat Alberto Fujimori, who was convicted of corruption and is still imprisoned. With every presidential election, Keiko Fujimori maintains the right-wing populist, neoliberal and authoritarian current embodied by his father. As for the 1993 Constitution, inherited from “Fujimorism,” it perpetuates the insecurity of the system, notably by allowing elected members of Congress to dismiss the President without serious justification.
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Therefore, no lasting solution to the recurring chaos afflicting Peru can be achieved without institutional reform. While political parties are mere conglomerations of vested interests, many of them controlled by businessmen who hire them solely, while mediocrity, amateurism and corruption rule political circles, the country cannot emerge from its perennial crisis without its ways profoundly change leadership. In this country, as elsewhere, tackling the immense social, economic, agricultural and environmental challenges facing Peru requires representation and consideration of all walks of life.