A new anti-government march called for this Saturday in Lima brought together hundreds of people and took place peacefully for a large part of its route, until there was a confrontation with the police, who evicted some protesters who entered the central Plaza San Martín.
Unlike the day of protest that brought together thousands of people during the afternoon and night of last Wednesday, the call of the National Unitary Coordinator of Struggle (CNUL) was answered this Saturday mostly by people who have come from the interior of the country to the Peruvian capital to express their rejection of the Executive and Legislative authorities.
Diana Flores, a protester who came from Puno, where 19 people died last January in direct confrontations with the security forces, told EFE that the objective of the march is that “as a country we have the opportunity to reconcile, and confront a government that does not respect our rights.” “This situation cannot continue like this, neither the Congress nor the Executive branch can continue in this way,” she emphasized.
For her part, Janeth Mendoza Huarancca, whose brother, Jhon Henry Mendoza, was one of the fatalities of the repression of the demonstrations last December in the city of Ayacucho, said that she “will never recognize” Dina Boluarte as president. “I came from Ayacucho on July 18 to ask for justice for my brother,” she said.
The demonstrators met in Plaza Dos de Mayo and from there began a march through downtown streets and avenues to reiterate their request for Boluarte’s resignation, the closure of Congress and the call for general elections and a constituent assembly.
The CNUL accused the Government and Congress of forming a “coup coalition” and assured that the formation of “a social front for change in democracy is a necessity to overcome the political and social crisis” affecting Peru.
The demonstration was closely followed by riot police from the Peruvian National Police (PNP), without incident until a group of people, most of them women from Puno, entered Plaza San Martín, the usual epicenter of demonstrations in Lima that a few months ago was declared “intangible” by the metropolitan municipality.
At that moment, the agents fired tear gas that covered the area, hit them with their sticks and shields and forced the protesters back, who had to leave the place along with the journalists and onlookers who were following the incidents.
The National Human Rights Coordinator (CNDDHH) affirmed in its networks that it was an “unjustified repression against the population that entered the San Martín square to express their rejection of the Boluarte regime” and claimed that “citizens have the right to use public squares to make their voices heard.”
At least one protester was injured when she received strong blows, while a brigade member of the volunteers who provide first aid and a PNP agent suffered injuries, although apparently minor.
The Ombudsman’s Office reported, for its part, that it had verified that a person who was going to the protest was detained in the San Martín de Porres district by police officers and now “has the accompaniment of his lawyer”, while the Prosecutor’s Office has learned of the fact.
“We remember that the police record is only admissible if there is a well-founded reason that the person may be linked to the commission of a crime,” the agency emphasized.
After the confrontation in the Plaza San Martín, the protesters resumed their journey and advanced towards the Paseo de los Héroes Navales, where the Palace of Justice is located, from where they were also evicted by riot police.
