Peru’s new government declared a national state of emergency on Wednesday as it suspended “personal security and freedom” rights across the Andean nation for 30 days in an effort to quell violent protests against the ouster of President Pedro Castillo.
Defense Minister Luis Otarola Pearanda said the vandalism, violence and roadblocks “demand a strong and dignified response from the government” as thousands of Peruvians are on the streets.
The declaration suspends freedom of assembly and movement and gives military-backed police the power to search people’s homes without a warrant or court order. Otarola said it has not been determined whether a night curfew will be imposed.
Peru has been gripped by almost a week of political crisis and unrest that has undermined stability.
“The problems are increasing so much that the idea of order, the idea of an authority that can somehow manage the country, is being called into question,” said Jorge Aragón, a political science professor at the Pontifical Catholic University. Peru.
He added that this decree is a way of trying to restore a certain minimum stability, a certain minimum functioning of the country, but, of course, it is a recognition that this cannot be achieved without the use of force.
The Minister of Defense said that the declaration was accepted by the Council of Ministers. This is not mentioned The new president of Peru is Dina Boluartewas sworn in by Congress last week after lawmakers ousted Castillo.
Boluarte asked for calm as protests against him and Congress continued.
“Peru cannot afford to bleed,” he said earlier Wednesday.
Pointing to demands for immediate elections, he said they could be held a year later, four months earlier than his previous proposal, which he did not endorse.
Boluarte announced the possibility of calling general elections for December 2023 to reporters ahead of the hearing, which will determine whether Castillo will spend 18 months in prison. the authorities file a sedition case against him. The judge adjourned the hearing after Castillo refused to appear.
“Sisters and brothers, all I can tell you is to be calm,†said Boluarte. “We had this experience in the 80s and 90s, and I believe that we do not want to return to that painful history.”
Castillo’s colleague recalled the deadly years when the Shining Path rebellion led to numerous car bombings and murders. The group has been blamed for more than half of the nearly 70,000 deaths and disappearances caused by various rebel groups and the government’s brutal counterinsurgency response.
Protesters have blocked the streets of Peru’s capital and many rural communitiesIt is demanding Castillo’s freedom, Boluarte’s resignation and the scheduling of immediate general elections to choose a new president and replace all members of Congress.
At least seven people have died, including a teenager who was injured during Wednesday’s protests in Andahuaylas, a hospital director said.
All perished in the same poor communities voters pushed the rural teachers union leader to victory last year after he promised a populist approach to governance.
Castillo was ousted by lawmakers on December 7 after trying to dissolve Congress ahead of his third impeachment attempt. His car was caught driving through the streets of Lima with his security detail. Prosecutors accused him of trying to seek political asylum at the Mexican embassy.
In a handwritten letter sent to The Associated Press by his partner Mauro Gonzalez on Wednesday, Castillo asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to intercede for his “rights and the rights of my Peruvian brothers who are crying out for justice.” investigates allegations of human rights violations and in some cases takes them to court.
Last week, protesters burned police stations, seized airspace used by the armed forces and stormed the runway of Arequipa International Airport, the gateway to some of Peru’s tourist destinations. A passenger train carrying visitors to Machu Picchu was suspended, and roadblocks on the Pan American Highway for days halted trailer trucks and damaged food supplies heading to the capital.
Otarola said on Tuesday that the total number of people who “caused this chaos” did not exceed 8,000 across the country, supporting Castillo, who received nearly 8.8 million votes to win the July 2021 presidential election. -significantly reducing support. with a narrow 50.1% vote.
Boluarte said 200 police officers were injured in Wednesday’s protests. and he met at least two of them in the hospital.
Speaking to an officer whose face was injured, the president said the protests were being led by “a group” he did not identify.
“This is a group that is attracting an uneducated community, because of course many people are protesting and they don’t even know why they are protesting,’ Boluarte said. “But a smaller group behind them encourages them to go out with this violence.â€
On Wednesday, members of the armed forces were deployed to Arequipa and other areas outside Lima. Protecting rural areas far from the capital can take a long time.
Five of the dead were in Andouaylas, an impoverished town long abandoned by the government and occasionally rebelling against it. College student Luis Torres joined about 2,000 people in a protest there on Wednesday as several white vans carrying soldiers drove through the streets.
“This measure is disproportionate. This shows the political instability of the current government of Mrs. Dina Boluarte,” said Torres. “We are all marching peacefully for what is just, what we demand. At least Andahuaylas will continue to fight.â€
.