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LIMA – Peru declared a nationwide state of emergency yesterday over violent protests against the ouster and arrest of ex-president Pedro Castillo that have left seven people dead.
Castillo’s supporters have taken to the streets and set up roadblocks countrywide in protests that have also left 200 injured as they demand his release and the holding of early elections.
The country plunged into crisis last week when Castillo tried to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, but was quickly impeached by lawmakers and arrested on his way to seek refuge in the Mexican embassy.
The new President Dina Boluarte has struggled to quell tensions, and has now called for the next election – normally due in 2026 – to be brought forward to December 2023, after an earlier bid to hold them in 2024 failed to halt the protests.
Defense Minister Alberto Otarola announced the new 30-day state of emergency due to “acts of vandalism and violence” and roadblocks, and said police and the armed forces “would have control of the whole territory”.
He said the measure involved “the suspension of the freedom of movement and assembly” and could also include a night-time curfew.
Last week, a judge ordered Castillo to be held in jail for seven days, and he was meant to be released yesterday.
However, prosecutors filed a request late on Tuesday to hold him in pre-trial detention for 18 months.
Judge Juan Checkley yesterday postponed a hearing on the new request until today after defence attorneys argued they had not received all documents from the public prosecutor.
However, he also ordered Castillo to remain in detention for another 48 hours.
“Enough! The outrage, humiliation, and mistreatment continue,” wrote Castillo on Twitter, adding that he would petition the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to “intercede”.
Castillo, a leftist former school teacher, was in power for only 17 months in the South American nation that is prone to political instability and is now on its sixth president in six years.
His short period in office was marked by a power struggle with the opposition-dominated Congress, and six investigations into him and his family, mainly for corruption.
On Tuesday, Castillo called his arrest unjust and arbitrary and said he would “never give up and abandon this popular cause that brought me here”.
He also called on security forces “to lay down their arms and stop killing these people thirsty for justice”. – AFP, December 15, 2022