The Peruvian government ordered the police and army to intervene to disperse dozens of roadblocks across the country over the next few hours, which were set up by protesters demanding the resignation of President Dina Bolluarte.

The Peruvian police “with the support of the armed forces” will proceed to “open the roads of the national network,” the interior and defense ministries said on Thursday evening (local time).

Earlier Thursday, authorities reported 88 barricades blocking roads in 8 of the country’s 25 regions. The blockade causes shortages of basic commodities and fuel for transport and household needs, drives up prices and, according to the government, hinders access to medical services and transportation of medicines to parts of the country.

The main highway connecting the Andes with Lima is closed, hundreds of trucks are stuck.

The government claims that the road closures killed 10 people, including three children, who it says could not get the emergency medical care they needed.

“To date, 10 innocent Peruvians have lost their lives” due to these “illegal acts,” the two ministries said in a joint statement.

“The right to live”

The right of every citizen to protest “does not include blocking roads, let alone deciding whether those who need to be transported for medical treatment (…) or those who need oxygen or medicine to get to their places in order to be able to continue to live, ”the message says.

Peru has been in a major political crisis since left-wing former president Pedro Castillo was ousted and arrested on December 7 after being accused of attempting a coup by announcing the dissolution of Congress, which is preparing to impeach him.

At least 46 people have been killed in six weeks in clashes between security forces and Mr. Castillo’s supporters demanding Ms. Bolluarte’s resignation and immediate elections.

Ms Boluarte, vice-president of former President Pedro Castillo until he succeeded him in accordance with the Constitution, is from the Andes and was elected from the same radical left party as her predecessor. The protesters call her a “traitor”.

“Against the dictatorship”

The crisis reflects a huge gap between the metropolitan political and economic elite and the provincial poor, where many support former President Castillo, whose electoral victory they saw as revenge for the contempt and racism of the elites, especially against the natives.

On Thursday in the capital, hundreds of people gathered in an atmosphere of calm on May 2 Square. “We are fighting against the dictatorship of Dina Bolluarte,” protester Eduardo Vasquez told AFP as he distributed rations to others.

However, in the historic center of the capital, incidents again occurred between protesters and the police, when some threw stones and other objects, while others used tear gas and threw rubber bullets.

In Juliaca, in the Puno region (south), relatives of the victims of state violence during yesterday’s mass mobilizations demanded “justice” from the government of President Boluarte.

“All I ask is justice. I don’t ask for help because no one will give me back my brother again,” tearfully said Maria Samian, sister of 31-year-old doctor Marco Antonio Samian, who was shot dead during protests in Juliaca while trying to propose. first aid aid to injured protesters.

“Every day I feel like I’m dying too. I can’t live anymore,” Ms. Samyang said at a press conference organized by the National Coordinating Committee for Human Rights (CNDDHH).

Source: RES-IPE