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Some highways in southern Peru were partially blocked on Wednesday as protesters resumed protests after a pause by the deadly riots over the removal of former president Pedro Castillowhile the police and the Army protected key infrastructure.
The Prime Minister, Alberto Otárola, informed journalists that the general situation in the country is “normal” although there were blockades in the regions of Cusco and Puno, which affected the transport mainly of tourists and merchants in those areas.
“The protest is a right of the population, but it has to be done peacefully,” said the official. “We are working with the police to maintain internal control.”
In Photos | Hundreds march in the streets of Lima demanding an end to violence
Protests in Peru after the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo, which left almost two dozen dead in December, resumed on Wednesday with blockades of some roads after a two-week pause.
According to television images, the police and the Army guarded public offices in some areas where protests have been announced, including Ayacucho, the region where the largest number of people died in the December demonstrations.
In Cusco, the train service that goes to the Inca citadel of Machupichu, the most visited by tourists, was suspended in anticipation of the protests, the railway company reported.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism reported in a statement that it evacuated 2,062 tourists from Machupichu on Tuesday, and that they have implemented safe corridors for visitors to the historic centers of Cusco.
Peru suffered a wave of protests in December after the removal and arrest of former President Castilloin which there were 22 deaths in clashes between demonstrators and the Army and another six deaths in accidents linked to the blockades.
Castillo, a former teacher of the left who was in power for almost 17 months, tried to dissolve Congress and reorganize the judiciary illegally. The vice president at that time, Dina Boluarte, assumed power and proposed advancing the elections by two years, which she hopes will be held in April 2024.
Representatives of civil groups and unions from ten regions of the south of the country, historically voters of the left, announced the resumption of protests on Wednesday demanding the resignation of Boluarte, the closure of Congress, a Constituent Assembly and the release of former president Castillo.
Castle He is serving a preventive prison for 18 months. while being investigated for “rebellion”, a charge that the former president denies.
President Boluarte installed a “Crisis Monitoring and Control” center on Wednesday morning, together with the Defense and Interior Ministers. “I call for peace, for calm, for unity to promote the development of the country,” she said in a speech.
On Tuesday, thousands of people had marched in Lima and in some regions of the country demanding “peace and tranquility.”
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