Boluarte is blamed for the harsh repression of the demonstrations a year ago, which left more than 50 people dead.
a year ago, which left more than 50 people dead. Photo: LaRepublica.pe

By Roberto Morejón 

Peruvian President-designate Dina Boluarte will bitterly remember her first anniversary in power, after the withering dismissal of then President Pedro Castillo, when street demonstrations were associated with the outburst of anger over the release of Alberto Fujimori, in the midst of the economic recession.

Civil groups, unions, leftist organizations and students took to the streets shouting that everyone should go, in reference to the head of state and the Congress, accused of corruption.

For many, the magnitude of the explosive demonstrations of late 2022 and early 2023 has not been repeated, due to the fact that the Government raised the penalties against people who close roads and attack public and private facilities.

Boluarte's popularity has fallen to less than one digit in the face of the thrust of an opposition arc that also gathers indigenous communities.

Disapproval of Boluarte's government

The president-designate has been blamed for the harsh repression of the demonstrations a year ago, with a death toll of more than 50 people, but no one has been charged for the perpetration of the crime.

Boluarte remains tied to the right and in collusion with the conservative-dominated Congress, and only has the backing of the business elite.

Against her there is a dispute with the Attorney General's Office, in charge of Patricia Benavides, suspended for a criminal investigation, after which she summoned the president for her implication in the repressive acts.

The political whirlwind gained thickness when the Constitutional Court ordered the release of former dictator Alberto Fujimori, sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity.

Fujimorism's detractors criticize the court because it disregarded instructions from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights not to release the 85-year-old former ruler.

While the relatives of the victims under Fujimori's regime demand justice, Peru is facing a recession, after a contraction for five consecutive months, plummeting private investment for four quarters and a decline in employment.

Boluarte is sitting on a volcano, although she is confident that the right will not abandon her.

But this does not mean that she can avoid new pressures from society in the streets, given the discredit of a State considered in frank moral incapacity.