Protests and roadblocks by demonstrators demanding the resignation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte continue this Friday in most of the country’s departments, particularly in the south, where access by train to Machu Picchu was also blocked. The social outburst that began on December 7 after Pedro Castillo’s failed coup and subsequent arrest has increased pressure on the government, but the president and her cabinet have chosen to hole up. The hypothesis of seeking a dialogue between the authorities and the demonstrators is not yet on the table. Boluarte accused the participants of the first march, which aimed to reach the center of Lima on Thursday, of trying to “create chaos in order to seize power”.
The violent clashes that took place in some neighborhoods of the capital continue this Friday in several inland provinces from Arequipa to Puno. That’s where the greatest police repression has taken place, and that’s where another young man has died, number 55 since the crisis began. The police operation of nearly 12,000 soldiers prevented the mountain’s civil organizations, which form the backbone of the protest, from reaching Congress and the government palace, but it did not stem the wave of outrage sweeping through the Andean country.
The security forces were tasked with mitigating the effects of the so-called Great March of the Four, so named after the mobilization that put an end to Alberto Fujimori’s regime. The big question was whether the people of Lima would join en masse, which they partially did the day before the march. Students from the capital’s main public universities, such as the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM) and the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería (UNI), had approached the protesters, offering shelter and donations.
Thousands of people began demonstrating at four o’clock in the afternoon in various places in the capital. The police siege and lack of organization among the protesters meant the call fell far short of its goal of getting closer to the core of Lima’s political power. There were police charges in Abancay, a strategic road leading to the seat of the legislature. There were no fatalities, although some injuries were reported. Unlike in the southern highland regions, police in the capital did not use firearms and the strategy used to control mobilizations was not the same as on previous occasions.
At dusk, Plaza San Martín in central Lima seemed a favorable setting for the protest. At that very moment, an old house in one of the corners of the square began to burn. Amid the confusion, police regained ground and once again circled the square. As the fire consumed the building, the march was consumed. And the protesters eventually dispersed. More than five fire trucks and three water tankers were needed to bring the fire under control. A group of unidentified neighbors pointed out that the incident was caused by a tear gas bomb falling on the roof, although the government denies this.
As the building’s flames reddened the Peruvian capital’s sky, President Dina Boluarte sent a message to the nation that, far from empathizing with a large group of citizens marching in the streets, she dismissed the protest , by drawing attention to the protesters of “evil citizens trying to break the rule of law”. He assured that “the government is standing firm” and his cabinet is “more united than ever”. Meanwhile, in the South, a citizen died after being seriously injured by a gunshot the day before. This was the second victim in Macusani, Carabaya province, where a group of residents set fire to a police station and the judiciary headquarters on Wednesday night. But it wasn’t the only incident in the region bordering Bolivia. Once again, the residents tried to take over the Inca Manco Cápac Airport and opposed the police. The result: seven civilians and two injured officers.
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In Arequipa, the confiscation added the 55th casualty of the conflict. Jhancarlo Condori Arcana, a 30-year-old man who sustained a fatal abdominal wound. In the White City, protesters also tried to enter Alfredo Rodríguez Ballon Airport, without success. The executive declared a state of emergency for 30 days in the Amazonas, La Libertad and Tacna regions. After this first big march in the capital, the demonstrators will stay on the streets.
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