Looking at the Peru protests: why do Peruvians want their new President to resign?

The Indian Express takes a look at the situation in Peru.

Who is Pedro Castillo?

Pedro Castillo, 53, was born to parents who were illiterate farmers in rural Peru. He became a teacher, and as a teacher, he was active in union work, organising for better pay and working conditions. His 2021 presidential campaign reflected his socialist roots, appealing to disaffected members of the population through the promise to improve his country’s economy and reduce its chronic inequality. His campaign slogan was ““No more poor people in a rich country.”

However, partially due to his own shortcomings and partially due systemic dysfunction that has bedevilled Peru in its modern history, his tenure failed to live up to expectations, getting immediately embroiled in scandal.

What sparked such major protests against the newly elected president?

While Castillo’s rhetoric was impressive, his administrative skills were less so. After coming to power, he appointed five different cabinets, cycling through 80-odd ministers in his short tenure. Many of his appointees were unpopular and faced all sorts of allegations, ranging from corruption to domestic violence.

Castillo himself was under constant pressure, with multiple criminal investigations against him over charges of corruption, profiteering, and obstruction of justice. While his closest supporters claimed that all this was a ploy for the previous ruling elites to recapture the power, Castillo was losing the support of the population as a whole on the back of larger socio-economic troubles.

Covid-19 had hit Peru hard. Along with the highest death rate in the world (5997 deaths per million population according to Worldometer), it also caused large-scale economic distress, fueling poverty and shrinking the middle class. Further, the conflict in Ukraine had ushered in massive inflation, particularly affecting Peru due to its dependence on oil imports (unlike many of its neighbours). While Castillo inherited some of the problems, his inability to guide Peru out of the situation proved to be his undoing.

What have the protests been like?

Protests began in March after a motion to impeach Castillo failed to go through in the parliament. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Lima, Peru’s capital, to call for Castillo’s resignation. Castillo deployed riot police to push protesters back. Protesting Carola Suarez told Reuters, “We are here representing millions of Peruvians. Peru can’t take it any more. We are on the edge of the precipice, economically everything has stagnated.”

Protests also gripped much of rural Peru, areas which used to be Castillo’s strongholds. Heavily impacted due to increasing fertiliser and fuel prices, some of these protests turned violent, devolving into riots, vandalism and looting. Over March and April, the protests had already seen multiple deaths and various injuries with authorities often using brutal force to keep protesters in check.

End of April saw a brief lull with Castillo promising reforms, but by May, scandal broke again, this time, accusing Castillo of plagiarising his Masters’ thesis. Since then, the pressure steadily mounted, both from protesters and opposition parties. In August, Prime Minister Anibal Torres resigned over findings of a criminal investigation that targeted Castillo.

By December, Castillo faced yet another impeachment vote, this time enjoying less support than he previously did.

A “coup” that lasted hours

Feeling his grip on power unfastening, Pedro Castillo decided to dissolve Congress and announced a curfew on December 7. However, he would almost immediately fail with his political allies abandoning him and the armed forces quickly putting out a statement condemning his actions. Castillo had overestimated the political and popular support he had. His time was up.

That day, the Peruvian legislature finally managed to impeach Castillo and later arrested. However, while Castillo’s reign came to an unceremonious end, Peru’s problems were far from over. Castillo is succeeded by Dina Boluarte, former ally of Castillo, serving as his Vice President until she openly criticised him and resigned. But much of the country was not happy.

Protesters call for fresh elections

Protesters took to the streets once again after Boluarte was sworn in as the nation’s first woman President, calling for her resignation not even a day into her tenure. They called for fresh elections. According to a report by the Guardian, “Demonstrators, many of them Castillo supporters, have for days demanded that Peru hold elections rather than allow Boluarte to stay in power until Castillo’s term officially ends in 2026.”

A 15-year-old and an 18-year-old died “possibly as a result of gunshot wounds” during clashes with police on Sunday in the city of Andahuaylas with violence being reported in many other areas.

In response, earlier today, Dina Boluarte announced that she will be shifting general elections to 2024, two years ahead of their scheduled date.