During the next 30 days the army is authorized to intervene to maintain order, several constitutional rights are already suspended. The protests, which left 42 dead, broke out after the dismissal and the arrest on December 7 of the socialist president Pedro Castillo.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
The Peruvian government decreed on Saturday, January 14, the state of emergency in the capital Lima and several other regions due to the demonstrations against the president Dina Boluarte who left at least 42 dead in the country for five weeks.
This measure, in force for 30 days, authorizes the army to intervene to maintain order and leads to the suspension of several constitutional rights such as freedom of movement and meeting and the inviolability of the home, according to a decree published Saturday evening in the Official Journal.
In addition to the capital, the departments of Cusco and Puno (South) are notably subject to the state of emergency, as well as the port of Callao, next to Lima.
More than a hundred roadblocks blocked traffic on Saturday across Peru, mainly in the south, epicenter of protest, but also around Lima.
“traitor”
The authorities, however, reopened on Saturday, Cusco International Airport, of vital importance for the Peruvian tourism sector.
The protests broke out after the dismissal and the arrest on December 7 of the socialist president Pedro Castillo, accused of having tempted to perpetrate a coup by wanting to dissolve the Parliament which was about to hunt it from power.
Mrs. Boluarte, who was the vice-president of Mr. Castillo, succeeded him in accordance with the Constitution and came from the same left party as him. But the demonstrators, who see in her a “traitor”, demand her departure as well as immediate elections.
For the moment, Mrs. Boluarte refuses to resign.