Monitoring Desk
AREQUIPA, PERU: Peru imposed a state of emergency on Wednesday in response to violent protests over the removal and detention of Former-President Pedro Castillo, which left seven people dead.
In nationwide protests that have also resulted in 200 injuries, Castillo’s supporters have blocked roads and taken to the streets to call for his release and the holding of early elections.
The nation descended into chaos when Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress and rule by decree last week. Former president was quickly impeached by lawmakers and detained as he went to the Mexican embassy to seek refuge.
A previous attempt to hold the elections in 2024 failed to stop the protests, and the new President, Dina Boluarte, has now called for them to be moved forward to December 2023. She has struggled to calm tensions.
Police and the armed forces “would have control of the whole territory,” according to defense minister Alberto Otarola, who also declared a new 30-day state of emergency in response to “acts of vandalism and violence” and roadblocks. The measure, according to him, “involves the suspension of the freedom of movement and assembly” and may also include a curfew at night.
Humiliation and mistreatment of former president
Former president was scheduled for release on Wednesday after a judge ordered his detention for seven days last week. Prosecutors, however, asked to keep him in pre-trial detention for 18 months in a late Tuesday filing.
Judge Juan Checkley agreed to postpone the hearing on the new request until Thursday after the defense attorneys stated that they had not received all of the materials from the public prosecutor on Wednesday.
He also mandated Castillo’s continued detention for an additional 48 hours. “Enough! Castillo posted on Twitter that “the outrage, humiliation, and mistreatment continue” and promised to “intervene” by petitioning the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
In the politically unstable country of South America, where former president, a former leftist teacher, only held office for 17 months, there have been six presidents in the last six years. Six investigations into him and his family, mostly for corruption, characterized his brief term in office, as did a power struggle with the opposition-dominated Congress.
Former president said his arrest was unfair and arbitrary on Tuesday and vowed to “never give up and abandon this popular cause that brought me here.” Additionally, he urged law enforcement to “lay down their weapons and stop killing these people thirsting for justice.”
Serious social convulsion
Protesters have erected roadblocks in many locations. The worst-affected regions are in the north and south, including Cusco, a popular tourist destination home to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, and Arequipa, Peru’s second-largest city.
On Tuesday evening in Lima, dozens of protesters attempted to enter Congress and threw stones at the police, who used tear gas to disperse them. Following two more fatalities on Sunday, five people were killed in clashes between protesters and security personnel on Monday.
Boluarte was born in the Apurimac region, which has seen six of the seven deaths. Eliana Revollar, the rights ombudsman, warned AFP on Tuesday that things could still worsen. “This social convulsion is very serious. Because there are those calling for an insurrection and asking to take up arms, we worry that it will spark an uprising, according to Rebollar.
On Tuesday evening in Lima, dozens of protesters attempted to enter Congress and threw stones at the police, who used tear gas to disperse them. Following two more fatalities on Sunday, five people were killed in clashes between protesters and security personnel on Monday.
Boluarte was born in the Apurimac region, which has seen six of the seven deaths. Eliana Revollar, the rights ombudsman, warned AFP on Tuesday that things could still worsen.
“This social convulsion is very serious. Because there are those calling for an insurrection and asking to take up arms, we worry that it will spark an uprising, according to Rebollar.
