Hundreds of Peruvians participated on Tuesday in government-backed mobilizations called “marches for peace” in different cities across the country a day before protests against President Dina Boluarte that followed the ouster of her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, resumed. after he tried to dissolve Congress.
The police, who had called and promoted these marches with posts and videos on social networks, backed down after their behavior was criticized as a political use of the police institution, and deleted the invitations they had spread.
In Lima, the march began in Campo de Marte, a large park near the center of the city, and culminated in Plaza San Martín, in the historic center, a public space previously used by Castillo supporters, but since assumed Boluarte was closed.
On the way, a group of followers of the ex-governor threw red paint at those who participated in the march, before which the police began to arrest some castillistas. One of those intervened was Zaira Arias, a former candidate for Congress for the Peru Libre political party, a left-wing group with which Castillo won the presidency in 2021.
In San Martín square, the demonstrators held their minute of silence for the fatalities of the protests in recent weeks, which according to the government total 27.
Some right-wing congressmen participated in the march, such as Alejandro Muñante, president of Parliament and a member of the conservative Popular Renewal party.
Boluarte had announced these marches for peace and expressed his support for it.
“Just as there are people who are saying that they are going to march on January 4, there is also a group of people who want peace and are going to march for peace in Peru,” said the president on Friday in Cusco, in southern Peru, one of the regions where there is high rejection of her and her government, where she went to try to calm things down.
One day after the resumption of protests against the government in different regions, after a partial truce due to the end of the year, Boluarte spoke out that there should be no more violence.
“There does not have to be, there does not have to be more deaths. That is why I call on the population to come out and protest, but they are not going to be allowed to vandalize either. They cannot continue blocking roads, they cannot continue looting businesses, ”she said in an interview with the Peruvian newspaper La República published this Tuesday.
In the afternoon, the Government installed a commission to give financial support to the relatives of those who died in the protests. “We are going to install this commission that will have a job in the shortest term to give this support to the people who are affected,” said the Minister of Justice, José Tello.
Boluarte assumed the government after Castillo, who had been president since 2021, was removed by Congress after trying to dissolve it with a television message on December 7. The current president was vice president and she was elected on the same list with her predecessor. Parliament swore her in as her constitutional successor.
Castillo was arrested and is in jail while authorities investigate him for alleged rebellion and conspiracy. These events sparked protests in Peru, which have left 27 dead and hundreds injured. The demonstrators demand new elections, the closure of Congress and the resignation of Boluarte. Those closest to Castillo demand that he be released.