Schools and universities closed their doors on Monday in the capital of Peru, while public officials stayed working at home, due to a government order that seeks to decongest the city and deploy security forces for the APEC leaders’ summit in the middle of threats of protests.
The measure will be extended until Saturday because the government of President Dina Boluarte also decreed three holidays during the week of the summit, in which her counterpart from the United States, Joe Biden, and the president of China, Xi Jinping, will participate. .
The order specifies remote work this week in Lima for public employees and for private companies under agreement with their workers, while schools and universities will have to hold “virtual classes” with their students.
With vehicle traffic reduced in the city, police and military patrolled near the Lima Convention Center, headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), which will bring together leaders and senior executives from 21 countries in the bloc.
The Boluarte Government, whose popularity has fallen to historic levels in almost two years of government, has deployed at least 15,000 police and members of the Armed Forces to protect the meeting.
“The government has put in place a fairly detailed security plan,” he told Reuters Peruvian Foreign Minister Elmer Schialer regarding the measures for the summit.
Schialer stated that it has been estimated that at least 7,000 people will participate in the forum, including APEC leaders and officials, as well as businessmen and journalists.
At the end of October, the Congress authorized the entry of 600 United States military personnel with weapons of war to the country to support security during the summit.
Official zeal for security has increased because some unions of transporters, merchants and workers’ unions have announced “a national strike” for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, demanding that the Government do more to combat the increase in crime. and extortion of businesses.
“We are not against APEC,” said Julio Campos, one of the transportation leaders organizing the strike. “We are going out to protest so that the world really knows how we are in the midst of insecurity, which also affects the business climate and investments,” he stated.
Boluarte, who took over after the dismissal and arrest of the leftist ex-president Pedro Castillo is under pressure from the population, who considers insecurity to be the country’s biggest problem, ahead of economic difficulties.
The government has supported three carrier strikes in the last month and Boluarte responded a week ago with the creation of a legal framework so that police and soldiers are only prosecuted in military-police jurisdiction when they use their regulatory weapons in the performance of their duties.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channelsYouTube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.
Add Comment