Protest in Lima calling for the dissolution of Congress after the parliamentary coup against the president of Peru, Pedro Castillo. Photo: EFE.
On Thursday, December 8, various social movements and political parties in Peru carried out demonstrations demanding new general elections and a constituent assembly to overcome the country’s political and constitutional crisis after Congress ousted President Pedro Castillo on Wednesday, December 7. Supporters of Castillo, who is now in prison, protested in the streets of the capital, Lima, as well as in other cities in condemnation of the coup and the appointment of Vice President Dina Boluarte as the new president.
Political groups, such as the Nuevo Peru movement, have called for an early general election and the installation of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution.
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The social movements criticized Boluarte’s request for a truce from the opposition parties because, according to these movements, to achieve the desired truce, she would apply policies that would not favor the people.
Lucía Alvites, sociologist and member of Nuevo Peru, told Telesur that on Wednesday, the extreme right concretized its strategy, based on racism and classism, of “breaking the will of the people and removing Castillo from the presidency.”
She asserted that the call for a truce by Boluarte “hides in practice a pact with the putschist sectors that have been harming democracy, dynamiting the little that remains of it.”
“We call for new elections with new rules,” Alvites added. “We must have a referendum so that the people can demand certain reforms and be able to return power to the people and ask the people if they want a new constitution.”
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Telesur’s correspondent in Peru, Jaime Herrera, reported that social organizations in several provinces, especially those in the south of the country, have called upon the people to mobilize not only in their places of residence but also to go to Lima to protest against Castillo’s imprisonment and call for new elections.
Demonstrations took place on Thursday throughout the country, including the Panamericana Sur highway and the provinces of Ica, Arequipa and Tacna, demanding the dissolution of the Congress and calling for new elections.
Ahora, desde Perú: la policía arremete con violencia y gases contra manifestantes en Plaza San Martín, rechazan el gobierno de Dina Boluarte, un fallecido sin confirmar… la violencia siempre viene con el golpismo!! pic.twitter.com/H8LcSQXign
— DAViD.cu (@_Davidcu) December 9, 2022
On Thursday night, demonstrators in Plaza San Martín in the historic center of Lima were attacked by the police, who chased and threw tear gas at the protesters, as seen in videos circulating on social media.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
