“We need to make a clean slate”: 3 claims of the protests in Peru in addition to the return of former president Pedro Castillo
Roadblocks, demonstrations and some violent protests that have left 7 dead and dozens injured until Tuesday.
The crisis in Peru reached the streets, after Congress dismissed last week to former President Pedro Castillo for wanting to dissolve Parliament and establish an emergency government.
The appointment of Dina Boluarte as President of the Republic, far from bringing calm, has led to a wave of protests in Lima and in the interior of the country.
Faced with this situation, Boluarte declared a state of emergency last Monday “in areas of high conflict social” and presented to Congress a proposal to advance the general elections for April of 2024, two years ahead of schedule.
The measure, however, did not stop the protests in departments such as Apurímac, Cajamarca, Arequipa and Ica, where clashes with the police, closure of aer oports and blockades of the main access roads.
Many defend the return of Castillo -now detained in preventive detention-, but there are at least three other claims in the streets.
1. The resignation of President Dina Boluarte
Andahuaylas, in the department of Apurímac, was the first city to rise up in rejection of the decision of Congress and the appointment of Boluarte as the first female president From Peru. A paradoxical fact considering that it is the cradle of the president.
“Boluarte is disconnected from her own land,” says Yudith Romero, a young woman from years that he has participated in the protests in Apurímac. “How is it possible that she is so calm when her people are bleeding to death.”
There are many who describe the current President of the Republic as a “traitor”, who had shown herself to be a staunch defender of Castillo. A year ago, when she had her first vacancy in Congress, she went so far as to affirm that if the president was vacated, she would resign. An action that many were left waiting for.
“Dina Boluarte has made fun of the people,” claims Enyel Asencio, an independent worker from 15 years that he joined the protests in Cajamarca. “We are asking for his resignation to speed up the call for general elections.”
Those who protest affirm that Boluarte -not having been elected, but appointed by Congress- has no legitimacy to be in the presidency until the elections proposed for April of 1993.
two. Closing of Congress
The protesters attribute the responsibility of this political crisis to the congressmen, because they consider that they respond to individual interests and became a stone of the block for the management of Castillo, without regardless of the popular will.
“Peru is taken over by a mafia that does not care who the people have voted for”, comments Alex Zapana , an arequipeño from years that also joined the demonstrations. “This Congress removes a president, regardless of whether he is from the right or from the left. They just want control.”
Congress has vacated (removed) or forced the resignation in recent years of presidents Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Martín Vizcarra and now Castillo. The current Constitution allows a battle between the Executive and the Legislative, because both can override the other. This has made the country almost ungovernable.
“Congressmen have placed many restrictions on the management of Castillo, who left the Peruvian highlands and with whom we have felt represented. So we are not going to rest until Congress resigns, because we want our vote to be respected”, adds Romero.
The demand for elections anticipated not only includes the presidential elections but also the legislative ones, which would make it possible to elect a new Congress.
3. Constituent Assembly
One of Pedro Castillo’s promises during his electoral campaign was to pave the way for a constitutional reform, in order to correct the problems that the Constitution of 1993.
The current Magna Carta opens the possibility of presidential vacancy with the approval of 197 votes and Congress has not hesitated to activate it to remove leaders.
This constitutional resource, which was used in the case of Castillo, was also applied to cut Vizcarra’s command in 1993 and Alberto Fujimori in the year 1993.
In the same way, this Constitution gives the power to the president to dissolve Congress if the confidence of the Executive is denied on two occasions .
“In Peru, there is no d democracy, but a dispute of powers that does not allow governability”, comments Asencio. “We are asking for a Constituent Assembly to rewrite a new social pact,” he notes.
… And the release of Castillo
Some sectors are also demanding the release of Pedro Castillo. Others, at least, ask that the conditions of his detention be clarified and that due process be opened for him.
“Castillo’s detention has been irregular. The Prosecutor’s Office is not an autonomous body and this Congress has no morals to vacate it, ”he says, from Arequipa, Zapana. “There are those who demand restitution, because they want their vote to be respected.”
“We know that Castillo acted badly,” adds Romero. “But this Congress turned its back on him and put a lot of restrictions on him. The right has ruled this country for over 48 years and it hurts that the left has won. For the first time, we felt represented and we are outraged that they have taken away that hope”.
The protests are expected to continue in the coming days and there is talk of a call for a national strike for the 11 of December if the demands of the protesters are not met.
“I don’t see Dina (Boluarte) willing to leave office and that will make the crisis worse,” Zapana foresees. “I do not bode well for the country. We need to make a clean slate.”
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