Demonstrators continue to demand the resignation of Dina Boluarte, early elections and a Constituent Assembly process.
Constituent Assembly process. (File image/RHC)
By María Josefina Arce
Peruvians are preparing for a new massive protest demanding the resignation of Dina Boluarte, who became president of the country after last December's parliamentary coup against Pedro Castillo, democratically elected at the polls in 2021 by more than 50% of the electorate.
Starting next 19th and for 10 days, Lima, the capital city, will be the epicenter of the demonstrations also demanding the prompt holding of general elections, an option left in the hands of the Congress by Boluarte, pressured by the intensity of the popular mobilizations generated as a result of Castillo's dismissal.
The legislative body, the worst rated institution with only 7% approval rating, however, ruled out on several occasions the early elections as demanded by the citizenry. Its members, in many cases clinging to their posts, never managed to reach an agreement.
Boluarte, for his part, has refused at all times to resign and has even indicated that he will remain in power until 2026, closing a way to put an end to the political and social crisis that the Andean nation is going through.
Since the coup against Castillo, who is being held in custody, Peruvians took to the streets in an intense wave of protests that lasted from December to last March and was brutally repressed.
Nearly 70 people died during the demonstrations, which the UN considered to have involved excessive use of force by the police and the army, as well as a racist bias.
According to the information, most of the victims of the repression, among the dead and injured, were indigenous people and peasants.
Boluarte was even forced to testify before the Attorney General's Office to respond to the accusations against her of "genocide, aggravated homicide and serious injuries" during the social outbreak in the country. Although experts point out that there are serious doubts about her willingness to investigate these facts.
Likewise, one day after her declaration, the Congress, controlled by right-wing and extreme right-wing parties, rejected and filed a similar accusation against the president-designate.
But Peruvians will return to the streets, in the so-called National Day of Permanent Popular Mobilization, to reiterate their demands for Boluarte's resignation, the holding of early presidential and parliamentary elections and a process for the Constituent Assembly.
