Protest: Roadblocks continue in earnest in Peru

Roadblocks and Demonstrations Calls for the resignation of President Tina Polwarte continued in Peru on Sunday Extension of State of Emergency Lima and other parts of the country.

The measure, decreed on Saturday and in effect for 30 days, authorizes the military to intervene to maintain order and leads to the suspension of several constitutional rights, such as freedom of movement and assembly and freedom from home invasion. In addition to Lima, the departments of Cusco and Puno (South) are notably under a state of emergency, as is the port of Callao next to Lima. A nationwide state of emergency was declared in mid-December for 30 days.

On Sunday, more than a hundred roadblocks continued to block traffic in 11 of Peru’s 25 regions, particularly in the south, its heartland. Resistance. Areas where roads are blocked include Puno, Arequipa and Cusco, the authority responsible for land transport said, clarifying that there have not been so many roadblocks during the current crisis. In Arequipa, dozens of people blocked the Panamericana Sur highway, which serves the Dagna region on the border with Chile.

However, authorities reopened Cusco’s international airport, vital to the Peruvian tourism industry, on Saturday after closing it on Thursday. On the other hand, trains to Machu Picchu are the only way to access the famous site. were still suspendedAnd local unions say the tourism industry is losing seven million soles (about 1.7 million euros) a day because of the crisis.

After the impeachment and arrest of Socialist President Pedro Castillo on December 7, he was accused of plotting a coup by seeking to dissolve parliament as he prepared to oust him from power. Pedro Castillo’s vice president, Tina Poluarte, also from the leftist party, succeeded him constitutionally. But the demonstrators, who see her as a “traitor”, are demanding her ouster and immediate elections. For now, Dina Boluarte Refuses to resign.

Demonstrations have been announced in Lima on Monday and in marginalized areas of the southern Andes. Some protesters from the south plan to take “control of the city” to Lima. “We have decided to go to Lima” from Monday, announced protest leader Julio Vilca from Ilavé province in the south of the country’s Puno region. “We cannot tell the time because what we want is to travel in unity,” he stressed.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which concluded an investigation into Peru on Friday, called for an impartial investigation into the crackdown on the protests, saying there were indications of “excessive use of force”. The government blames “professional insurgents financed by illegal money” for the unrest.