Protesters blocked roads in the city again. Perualthough yesterday the government declared a state of emergency and the judiciary is considering placing former President Pedro Castillo in preventive detention for 1.5 years.

Footage broadcast by local television shows dozens of cars parked on the edge of a coastal highway south of the capital, Lima. Hundreds of protesters laid stones on the streets in the areas of Puno, Cusco and Arequipa.

On Wednesday, the government declared a state of emergency and gave the police special powers. The right to assemble was also restricted following demonstrations organized on the occasion of Castillo’s impeachment and arrest. At least eight people have been killed in the past week.

Parliament impeached Castillo, and the authorities arrested him on December 7 when he attempted to illegally dissolve Congress. Its former vice president, Dina Boluarte, was sworn in as president and assumed her duties.

Prosecutors are seeking 18 months in prison for Castillo, who is accused of resisting and conspiring. Peru’s Supreme Court has until tomorrow to decide whether to place the former president in custody or not.

The General Confederation of Workers of Peru, one of the country’s largest trade unions, called its members for a “day of struggle” amid protests calling for elections, the closure of the Congress, the resignation of Boluarte and the convening of a constituent assembly to revise the constitution.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}