Thousands of protesters demanding the ouster of President Dina Boluarte poured into Peru’s capital Thursday, clashing with police who fired tear gas. Many came from remote regions, where dozens have died in unrest that has gripped the country since Peru’s first leader from a rural Andean background was removed from office last month, the AP reports. The protests have been marked by Peru’s worst political violence in more than two decades and highlighted deep divisions between the country’s urban elite, largely concentrated in Lima, and poor rural areas. Former President Pedro Castillo has been in detention and is expected to be tried for rebellion since he was impeached after a failed attempt to dissolve Congress.
Anger at Boluarte was the common thread Thursday as protesters chanted calls for her resignation and street sellers hawked T-shirts saying, "Out, Dina Boluarte," "Dina murderer, Peru repudiates you," and "New elections, let them all leave." Peru’s ombudsman said at least 13 civilians and four police officers were injured in the Lima protests Thursday. A total of 22 police officers and 16 civilians were injured Thursday throughout the country, Interior Minister Vicente Romero Fernández said. Protesters blamed Boluarte for the violence. "Dina Boluarte is killing, she’s making brothers fight," Paulina Consac said as she carried a large Bible while marching in downtown Lima with more than 2,000 protesters from Cusco.
Many Lima residents also joined today’s protests, with strong presences from students and union members. "We’re at a breaking point between dictatorship and democracy,” said Pedro Mamani, a student at the National University of San Marcos, where demonstrators who traveled for the protest were being housed. Until recently, the protests had been mainly in Peru’s southern Andes, with a total of 55 people killed in the unrest, mostly in clashes with security forces.
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Boluarte was defiant Thursday night in a televised speech alongside key government officials in which she thanked police for controlling the "violent protests" and vowed to prosecute those responsible for violence. Boluarte has said she supports a plan to hold elections for president and Congress in 2024, two years before originally scheduled. The president also criticized the protesters for "not having any kind of social agenda that the country needs," accused them of "wanting to break the rule of law," and raised questions about their financing.
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