Peru Descends Into Chaos, 'Massacre' at Protest
Violent clashes continue to break out across Peru after the arrest and ouster of the country’s president
Peru, which has been engulfed in violence since the country swore in a new president after the downfall of Pedro Castillo last month, saw its bloodiest day on Monday when at least 17 people were killed amid protests across the country.
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Jennie Dador, the executive secretary of the National Human Rights Coordinator of Peru, told The New York Times, that he blamed security forces for carrying out a “massacre.”
“These were extrajudicial killings,” he said.
The paper said the death toll has reached at least 47.
Castillo supporters clashed with security officers in the city of Juliaca, which is near the border with Bolivia. Authorities said about 9,000 people took part in the demonstration.
Alberto Otárola, the prime minister, told reporters that police faced an organized attack and that thousands of protesters attempted to overrun the city’s airport.
The violence broke out before he was set to seek a vote of confidence from Congress, which is required before leading the government.
Last month, Peruvians took to the streets after the country swore in a new president after the downfall of Castillo, who won the presidency in 2021 as the anti-establishment pick.
Some news reports noted that the Peruvians who have taken to the street are many of the “forgotten people” in the country.
Castillo wrote from prison: “I was chosen by the forgotten men and women deep in Peru, by the dispossessed who have been neglected for over 200 years.”
Some may have been unhappy with Castillo’s leadership, but they felt the former schoolteacher represented them.
Castillo was accused by his detractors of conducting a failed coup attempt to stay in power. He addressed the country in a televised address last week and said he planned to shut down Congress and “reorganize” the court system.
NPR noted that Castillo’s decision to take such actions came as the walls were closing in on him. He faced a third impeachment trial on corruption charges and faced being ousted from office.
Dina Boluarte, Castillo’s vice president, was tapped as the country’s new leader.
“She only represents the dead,” one protester told Reuters at the time. “We elected a humble rural teacher like us, hoping for a revolution that would bring the poor to power.”
Protesters want Boluarte to resign.
“Massacre after massacre does not solve absolutely anything,” Javier Torres, editor of a regional news outlet Noticias Ser, tweeted. “It is urgent to bring forward the elections as soon as possible and the resignation of Dina Boluarte!”
TREND FORECAST: Prior to the start of the COVID War, protests and demonstrations were breaking out in Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru.
In fact, in October 2019, riots in Peru broke out when its president, Martin Vizcarra, dissolved congress, which prompted opposition lawmakers to suspend him and appoint another leader.
When Boluarte was sworn in, she became her country’s sixth president in the past six years.
Throughout South America, as economic conditions continue to rapidly deteriorate, civil unrest will escalate into civil wars. With corruption, crime, and violence rising, millions of citizens will risk their lives to migrate to safe-haven nations.
'If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – for ever. ' This is one of the most famous quotations from George Orwell's 1949 novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. The words are spoken by O'Brien, the grand inquisitor of the totalitarian regime in Orwell's novel.