"So They Can See Us", Peru's National Protest Advances on Lima

EPISODE: “So They Can See Us” Peru’s
National Protest Advances to Lima


GUESTS:


Anahi Durand is a sociologist, former Minister of Women &
Vulnerable Populations for the Castillo Presidency and founder of
Mujers por Una Nueva Constitución (Women for a New Constitution);
and,


Eliana Carlin is a Peruvian political scientist, lecturer and
researcher. She is also Co-founder of Heroinas Peruanas and No a
Keiko (Peruvian Heroines and No to Keiko)


Note: This episode is in Spanish with English
translation. Interpretation provided by Carmelo Velasquez of
Velasquez Translations, Buenos Aires





BACKGROUND:


Deadly protests have gripped Peru since Congress expelled the
country's first working-class president, Pedro Castillo.


Timeline of events since December 7, 2022:


Dec 7, 2022: The surprise winner of the July 2021 presidential
election, Castillo comes under immediate attack from the right.
On December 7 he attempts to dissolve Congress before it can
debate a third impeachment motion against him and says he will
form an emergency government and rule by decree. Lawmakers vote
overwhelmingly to remove him from office for "moral incapacity"
to exercise power. He is arrested for "rebellion". Vice President
Dina Boluarte becomes Peru's first woman president. She says she
intends to serve out the rest of Castillo's term, until July
2026.The United States pledges to work with Boluarte.


Dec 10: Pro-Castillo protests spread, with demonstrators blocking
roads and burning tires across the country.


Dec 11: Two people are killed in Andahuaylas in the south.


Dec 12: Hundreds of protestors temporarily block the airport
runway in Peru's second biggest city, Arequipa.


Dec 14: Peru announces a 30-day nationwide state of emergency.


Dec 15: Castillo's pre-trial detention is prolonged for 18
months.


Dec 16: The pro-Castillo protests spread to the town of Cusco,
the gateway to Peru's top tourist attraction, the Inca citadel of
Machu Picchu, with rail services, road and air links closed.


Dec 20: As the death toll rises, Congress votes to bring forward
the general election from 2026 to April 2024.


Jan 9, 2023: Eighteen people are killed in clashes with security
forces triggered when demonstrators try to storm an airport in
the southeastern city of Juliaca. The prosecutor's office says it
will investigate Boluarte for genocide over the protests. The
next day Peru's government declares a state of emergency in Lima
and three other regions.


Jan 19: Clashes with police punctuate a march by thousands
through the capital for a large anti-government rally.


Jan 21: Peru closes Machu Picchu


Jan 24: Lima sees its most violent clashes since the start of the
crisis.


Jan 26: The government says police and soldiers will dismantle
roadblocks erected by protesters on the nation's highways.


Jan 28: Congress rejects a request by Boluarte to advance
elections to December 2023.


Jan 31: The Peruvian Foreign Minister led, in Washington DC, a
meeting between Peruvian businessmen and their counterparts from
the US Chamber of Commerce. Representatives of multinational
companies from mining, finance, technology, and health, among
other sectors attended the event. .





FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:


Anahi Durand: Twitter


Eliana Carlin: Twitter





ADDITIONAL LINKS:


House Democrat letter to President Joe Biden asking him to halt
security assistance to the government of Peru


WTF is Going on in Latin America & the
Caribbean: Lawfare, the Case of Argentina and Peru





WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular
Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace
Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on
Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious
Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and
Task Force on the Americas.