One dead in clashes on the eve of a large concentration in Lima

First modification: 01/19/2023 – 10:14

With the death of a woman, this Wednesday in southern Peru, there are already 43 the number of deaths since the crisis began on December 7.

“At 6:20 p.m. (23:20 GMT), a female person of about 35 years of age, who did not show vital signs, arrived at the emergency room,” the San Martín de Porres de Macusani hospital, an Andean city in the region of Puno, near the border with Bolivia.

The statement also mentioned a “guarded prognosis” for a 30-year-old man injured in the “thorax.”

According to photographs released by local media, the city police station was burned during the clashes.

Police officers were rescued by helicopter to save their lives during the attack on the police station, N television channel said, without showing images.

“Take Lime”

The protesters demand the resignation of the president, Dina Boluarte, as well as new elections in Peru.

They called for a general strike on Thursday, but above all for a large concentration in Lima, where thousands of peasants from the Andes have converged in recent days. They hope to “take Lima” and make an impact.

“In Lima, the fight will have more weight. When they repress us in our regions, nobody mentions it,” said Abdon Félix Flores, 30, a peasant who says he is ready “to give his life.” He left Andahuaylas on Sunday, the epicenter of the demonstrations in December, to arrive in Lima on Tuesday.

Up to now, it has been impossible to know the scope of the mobilization and how many people arrived in Lima, despite the various announcements that are circulating.

Before the death in Macusani was announced, on Wednesday night, the general secretary of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) gave a press conference.

“The struggle of the Peruvian people does not end tomorrow, the struggle will continue if it is intended that Mrs. Dina Boluarte does not listen to the people,” said Gerónimo López, who called the strike.

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

“It is a national popular civic strike with peaceful mobilizations of organizations from different regions, avoiding any act of vandalism.”

Although the government decreed a 30-day state of emergency on Sunday in Lima, Cuzco, Callao and Puno (where Macusani is located), the union leader specified that the organizers did not request authorization for the concentration.

“There is no authorization from the police, authorization is never requested for a social demonstration, it is not an obligation that they authorize us,” he assured, despite the fact that the state of emergency suspends the freedoms of assembly and movement, in addition to allowing the intervention of the army to maintain order.

Treason

Peru has experienced intense protests since on December 7 the leftist president Pedro Castillo was removed by Congress and arrested for a failed coup with which he tried to close Parliament, govern by decree and convene a Constituent Assembly.

The crisis also reflects the huge gap that exists between the capital and the poor provinces that support President Castillo, of indigenous origin, and who saw in his election a form of revenge against Lima’s contempt.

President Boluarte called for calm on Monday: “We know that they want to take Lima because of everything that is appearing on the networks on the 18th and 19th, I call on them to take Lima, yes, but in peace, calmly.”

Boluarte was the vice president of Castillo, whom she replaced as mandated by the Constitution, and comes from the same party, but is seen as a “traitor” by the protesters.

The authorities have planned an important security device in view of the large concentration. On Wednesday night, several small demonstrations in Lima were closely watched by the security forces.

Several statues and monuments in the center of the capital were wrapped in plastic sheets to protect them from damage.