President Dina Boluarte has said she will stay on as leader of Peru, reeling from deadly protests since her predecessor was deposed and arrested on December 7. Meanwhile, Pope Francis on Sunday called for an end to the violence.
In a new attempt to end the crisis and the protests, Ms Boluarte has asked Parliament to bring forward the general elections.
“What would my resignation solve? We are going to stay here, firm, until the Congress decides to bring forward the elections (…) I ask that we reconsider the vote” of Friday, when the Parliament pronounced once morest the advancement of the general elections from 2026 to 2023, she pleaded.
Assembly Speaker Jose Williams said Friday that the vote should be reconsidered at a future session.
In a televised message, Mrs. Boluarte – vice-president of Peru until the dismissal of Pedro Castillo – deplored the demonstrations which left at least 19 dead and 569 injured, including minors.
Some deaths are linked to clashes with the military, authorized to intervene to maintain internal security as part of the establishment of the state of emergency for a period of thirty days.
“It is only through calm and a sincere and open dialogue that we will be able to work (…). How can we fight between Peruvians, spoil our institutions, block the roads?”, She launched .
“Political and social crisis”
The president, from the same radical left party as Pedro Castillo, explained that if the armed forces took to the streets, “it was to protect” the citizens “because the situation was getting out of control”. She denounced the presence of organized “violent groups”.
“These groups did not appear overnight, they had tactically organized roadblocks,” she said.
Pope Francis prayed on Sunday during his Angelus in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican “for the violence in the country to end and for us to take the path of dialogue in order to overcome the political and social crisis which is affecting the population”.
The protesters are demanding the release of ousted President Pedro Castillo, the resignation of Ms Boluarte, the dissolution of Parliament and an immediate general election.
The most intense protests have taken place in the poverty-stricken Andean region of southern Peru, where social grievances have long gone unaddressed.
In Quechua
Ms. Boluarte, from Apurimac, one of the conflict zones, delivered part of her message in Quechua, a language spoken by a large Andean part of the country.
The protests erupted following Mr Castillo tried to dissolve parliament on December 7 and rule by decree.
A former left-wing teacher from a rural and modest background, he was arrested when he tried to reach the Mexican embassy to seek asylum.
Initially imprisoned for seven days, justice decided Thursday that he would remain in prison for eighteen months, until June 2024, in order to be charged with rebellion.
He faces a ten-year prison sentence, according to prosecutor Alcides Diaz, in charge of the case.
200 tourists evacuated
Some 200 tourists stranded in the famous Machu Picchu region due to protests were evacuated on Saturday, AFP noted.
On board a train, they arrived near the town of Piscacucho, in the region of Cuzco (south), where a huge rock blocked the passage.
From there, tourists – including North Americans and Europeans – walked regarding two kilometers to board buses to the city of Cusco, which has an international airport.
Alex Lim, a 41-year-old Canadian tourist, who was traveling with his wife, said he was relieved. “I didn’t bring my blood pressure medication and we only had clothes for one day. I’m happy to be back in Cuzco.”
The Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Luis Fernando Helguero was delighted with the happy ending for these tourists.
“With the support of the police and the armed forces we were able to repair the railway”, now accessible to Piscacucho, 29 km from Machu Picchu, the minister told AFP.
The mayor of the village near Machu Picchu, Darwin Baca, told AFP that “5,000 tourists” were stranded in Cuzco.
At least 622 tourists, including 525 foreigners, including around fifteen French people, were stranded on the famous site, according to a census of the municipality.
The train, which had been stopped since Tuesday, is the only modern way to get to the citadel from Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, 110 km away.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp
