The numerous mobilizations and protests in support of the former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo continue in several cities of the country, two days after he was dismissed and arrested for the alleged crime of rebellion after trying to dissolve Congress on the eve of the third motion of no confidence that had to face.
In Lima, the capital, the protests have concentrated around the Congress. Castillo’s supporters demand that he be dissolved as he announced on Wednesday and that ultimately meant his political death.
The Police have had to use tear gas to break up the protests, which later began to concentrate in streets surrounding Congress. Castillo’s supporters blame the new president, Dina Boluarte, for being behind the police repression. Since Wednesday, the mobilizations have increased, in which new general elections are also being demanded.
“The number one objective is to free Professor Pedro Castillo, he did not commit rebellion or sedition, we need the solidarity and unity of the people,” claimed the one who was the first of his five heads of government, Guido Bellido, who days ago speculated about the possibility that the former president had been pressured by his “advisers” to announce the dissolution of Congress.
The protests have also spread to the surroundings of the headquarters of the Directorate of Special Police Operations (Diroes), in the Ate district, in Lima, where Castillo is being held. However, there have been no clashes with the security forces, says ‘La Republica’.
In addition to the capital, there have been protests in other parts of the Andean country, such as in Canchis, Cuzco, where some 300 citizens blocked some access and exit points to the Puno and Arequipa regions. Among the participants are the bases of various unions and district defenders, including one of the main education unions, such as SUTEP.
Demonstrations have been registered in the provinces of Canas, Arequipa, Puno, Ica and Cajamarca. Hundreds of people have participated in all of them, agreeing on the need for new elections. ‘Dina Boluarte, you don’t represent me’, ‘Dina Boluarte, traitor’, are some of the rants that are heard.
For their part, the social organizations and grassroots unions of Vraem (Valle de los Rios Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro) have called for a mobilization to head towards Lima and demand the closure of Congress. “If Castillo was vacated, the congressmen must also leave,” the announcement reads.
