Peru brings forward general elections to April 2024

boluarte, whose resignation is among the demands of the protests that have shaken the country in recent weeks, guarantees that she is willing to leave within the new deadlines.

According to opinion polls, 83% of the population is in favor of moving forward with the election. Earlier, the president of the National Elections Jury, Jorge Salas, assured that “the electoral system is in a position to take on the challenge of bringing forward the elections to December 2023”.

Since they began on December 7, the demonstrations have left 21 people dead, which has generated concern among human rights organizations.

State of emergency declared across Peru due to violent protests

The new Peruvian government declared, this Wednesday (14), a state of emergency throughout the country for 30 days to contain the violent demonstrations demanding immediate general elections and the release of deposed president Pedro Castillo, after his failed self-coup.

This Tuesday (20), a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), headed by secretary Tania Reneaum, arrived in Lima to meet with authorities “in order to receive information about the institutional crisis and the protests”. The IACHR met with boluarte at the Government Palace, and plans to visit some cities in the country.

Peru: the chronology of a new political crisis

Leftist Pedro Castillo was removed from Peru's presidency by Congress. The measure sparked several protests last week, by opponents and supporters of Castillo. Understand what happened there.

Cabinet restoration

boluarte, who has been in office for 13 days, will reform his cabinet, as announced, including a change of prime minister, to favor the appointment of officials with more political experience, in order to seek a way out of the crisis. Although the announcement was scheduled for this Tuesday (20), it was postponed until further notice.

The Transport Ministry reported that operations at Inca Manco Cápac airport, in Juliaca, Puno region (south), were resumed today after 6 days of closure due to demonstrations. Other air terminals that remained closed were also operating.

Visits to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu have been suspended since December 14, to ensure the safety of tourists due to the protests.

Protests in Peru leave hundreds of tourists stranded in the Machu Picchu region

Hundreds of foreign tourists were blocked this Wednesday in the region of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, after train circulation was suspended due to protests caused by the political situation in Peru. Visitors are blocked in the city of Aguas Calientes, at the foot of the mountain where the jewel of Peruvian tourism stands. “We cannot return to Cusco and go to another country due to the protests. I’m with children, for me it’s a problem,” Israeli tourist Gale Dut told AFP.

Some demonstrations remained active this Tuesday (20) in the south of the country. In the Plaza de Armas of the city of Cusco (southeast), before Congress approved the advance, hundreds of people, most of them women in colorful traditional costumes, marched with a cardboard coffin with the image of boluarte and asked for advance notice.

As part of the protests, in Ayacucho, 8 protesters died last week in a clash with military personnel, during an attempt to take over an airport. The Public Defender's Office requested a criminal investigation, because several deaths occurred from point-blank shooting.

According to the latest report from the Ombudsman's Office, since their beginning, the protests have left 21 people dead and more than 650 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces.

Castle lost power on the same day, after trying to close Congress, intervene in the Judiciary, govern by decree and convene a Constituent Assembly. His request did not receive institutional support, which is why the former president was arrested, on charges of rebellion, when he tried to reach the Mexican embassy to ask for asylum.

Pedro Castillo is dismissed and arrested after announcing an 'exceptional government' in Peru; vice assumes presidency

The Peruvian Congress removed Pedro Castillo from the position of president this Wednesday (7), hours after he tried to dissolve Parliament and unsuccessfully launch a coup d'état in the country. Castillo was arrested two hours after declaring an “exceptional government”. Vice President Dina Boluarte took office.

Mexico's chancellor, Marcelo Ebrard, confirmed that Mexico's wife and children Castle took refuge in the Mexican embassy in Lima. In retaliation, the Peruvian government declared Mexico's ambassador to the country “persona non grata” and gave him “72 hours to leave” Peru.

(To AFP)

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Peru calls for ambassadors in countries that support Castillo for consultations

Peru announced, this Thursday (15), that it had called its ambassadors in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico for consultations, rejecting the declaration of these governments, which requested the reinstatement of Pedro Castillo as President, removed after a failed attempt of self-strike. “With the President of the Republic [Dina Boluarte], we called for consultations in Lima our Ambassadors in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico, in reaction to the interference in Peru's internal affairs”, announced Chancellor Ana Cecilia Gervasi in an official ceremony.

What a coup d'état is and how it is constructed. “They will not pass!”

Hated by the Brazilian progressive camp and recently very present in the vocabulary of supporters of the right, which has governed Brazil for four years, the word coup, in itself, refers to something bad. Sudden and violent movement, bruise, violent blow are some of its meanings listed in dictionaries. When talking about a coup d'état, things get worse, because the expression presupposes a break with established rules and Brazilians know very well what that means. Curto explain a little more.