Police on 'maximum alert' as thousands of protesters expected in Lima

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Jan 2023 20:24
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Amid rising tensions, Peru's capital is set to witness massive protests against President Dina Boluarte's government.

A riot police officer throws smoke at protesters in Lima on January 17, 2023. (AFP)

Lima, Peru's capital, is expecting on Thursday thousands of protesters for an anti-government rally following weeks of unrest that have left 43 people killed.

Demonstrators are demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of parliament, and immediate fresh elections.

Police said they were on "maximum alert" and have deployed 11,800 officers in Lima.

A demonstrator was killed on Wednesday in clashes with police in the country's south, bringing the death toll from the protests to 43, according to Peru's human rights ombudsman.

The South American country has been rocked by more than a month of protests, mostly in the southern and eastern areas, since the ouster and arrest of Boluarte's left-wing predecessor Pedro Castillo on December 7 after attempting to dissolve the country's legislature and rule by decree.

On Wednesday, a 35-year-old woman was killed in the southern Puno region, according to a hospital statement. At least one other person, a 30-year-old man, was injured in the demonstrations, the statement added.

Thousands of protesters from rural areas are trying to keep up pressure on the government, defying a state of emergency.

"We have 11,800 police officers in the streets to control unrest, we have more than 120 vans and 49 military vehicles, and also the armed forces are participating," said Lima police chief Victor Zanabria.

On Tuesday, many poor and Indigenous demonstrators made their presence felt in Lima, where police used smoke canisters against marchers who had gathered ahead of Thursday's larger mobilization.

Dozens marched through the capital's streets to Plaza San Martin, the historic epicenter of demonstrations.

Boluarte urged protesters flooding into Lima to gather "peacefully and calmly," warning them that "the rule of law cannot be hostage to the whims" of a single group of people.

"The Peruvian people's struggle will not end tomorrow," Geronimo Lopez, the general secretary of the General Confederation of Workers, underlined in a press conference late on Wednesday night.

"It will continue as long as Mrs. Dina Boluarte doesn't listen to the people," Lopez stressed, indicating that "this is a fair, democratic mobilization."

It is noteworthy that protesters have maintained almost 100 roadblocks across Peru.