Thousands of Peruvians protest again with all blood against Dina Boluarte

Thousands of protesters gathered on Saturday (02.04.2023) in the central Plaza Dos de Mayo in Lima, the capital of Peru, in a protest that promises to be “the biggest” and “with all blood,” according to the organizers of the protests calling for the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and the closure of Congress, in which 69 people have died so far.

The mobilization, also called a national strike, was called by peasant unions, civil organizations and student blocs from the southern Andean regions of Cusco and Puno, and from the most neglected regions in Peru, as well as from Lima.

“Today all the bloods come out,” says the call of the University Bloc, for another day of demonstrations against the government and the Peruvian Congress, loaded with indigenous demands and reproaches from the areas of the country richest in gas, mining and agricultural land that, however, they live in poverty with the minimum of social rights, especially in education and health.

“We are not going to give up this fight, the one who has to give up is the usurping lady and the Congress that fix everything so that we do not have to improve anything. They only steal from us and give our wealth to companies that are not Peruvian,” said protester Romina Cuno, a 37-year-old peasant woman from Puno.

Large groups from the poorest districts in the north of Lima arrived running and chanting “yes we can” while waving Peruvian flags and the wiphala, the colorful quadrangular flag representative of the Andean ethnic groups, reported reporters.

Another simultaneous mobilization took place in the streets of downtown Lima, with some 50 people who identified themselves as the “Patriotic Legion” and who claimed to defend the Peruvian Police “because of their actions with subversive terrorists.”

The new protest takes place a day after Congress blocked until August any debate to advance the general elections.

Dina Boluarte replaced former leftist president Pedro Castillo, who was ousted and arrested on December 7 after a failed attempt to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.

Boluarte's initial intention was to complete Castillo's term until 2026, but before the outbreak of mobilizations, he asked Congress to anticipate the elections.

The Peruvian authorities reported more than 70 points “with interrupted traffic” in six regions of the country, concentrated in the south, due to anti-government protests.

In the map released by the Superintendency of Land Transportation of People, Cargo and Goods (Sutran), it can be seen that most of the blockades occur in the southern regions of Puno, located more than 1,200 kilometers south of Lima, and Cuzco, although there are also some in the neighboring regions of Madre de Dios, Apurimac and in central Junin.

Blockades are also reported in the Amazon region of Madre de Dios, neighboring Puno and also on the border with Bolivia and Brazil, as well as in various points in the Cuzco region, near the provinces of Quispicanchi and Canchis.