The deaths have been a lightning rod in the protests. Protesters carry banners calling Boluarte a “murderer” and describing the actions of the police as “massacres.”
“Take Lime”
The demonstrators demand the resignation of Boluarte and the immediate calling of elections.
“In Lima, the fight will have more weight. When they repress us in our regions, nobody mentions it,” said Abdón Félix Flores, 30, a peasant who says he is ready “to give his life.” He left Andahuaylas on Sunday, the epicenter of the demonstrations in December, to arrive in Lima on Tuesday.
Up to now, it has been impossible to know the scope of the mobilization and how many people arrived in Lima, despite the various announcements that are circulating.
Before the deaths in Macusani, the general secretary of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) gave a press conference.
“The marches will continue. All the regions of the country have said that they will not return to their places of origin until Dina Boluarte resigns,” Gerónimo López, the union leader who called the strike, told AFP.
“There will be no social peace. There is a social overflow in the town like never before, it is the cry of the Peruvian people,” he said.
Hundreds of people who arrived in Lima in recent days remained on Thursday at the state University of San Marcos, whose students took part of the university headquarters the day before to house the protesters.
The crisis also reflects the huge gap that exists between the capital and the poor provinces that support President Castillo, of indigenous origin, and who saw in his election a form of revenge against Lima’s contempt.
President Boluarte called for calm on Monday: “We know that they want to take Lima because of everything that is appearing on the networks on the 18th and 19th, I call on them to take Lima, yes, but in peace, calmly.”
Boluarte was the vice president of Castillo, whom she replaced as established by the Constitution, and comes from the same party, but is seen as a “traitor” by the protesters.
With information from AFP and Reuters