• Demonstrations in rural districts failed to oust Boluarte
• ‘Great National Protest’ has been called for Thursday

Marcelo Rochabrun, Bloomberg News

LIMA
EnergiesNet.com 01 19 2023

Peruvian farmers and other protesters are heading to Lima to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte after weeks of demonstrations in impoverished rural areas failed to dislodge her. 

This latest round of protests is set to start Thursday, according to a statement from Peru’s National Association of Small Farmers, or Coprofam, which is helping organize the mobilization. 

Local media showed farmers boarding trucks and buses to the capital, some with placards denouncing Boluarte. Police stepped up their presence on key access roads into Lima and checked travelers’ ID.   

The Andean nation has been rocked by violent unrest since Boluarte took office on Dec. 7, after her predecessor President Pedro Castillo was impeached. The protests, which have left more than 40 people dead, have largely been concentrated in Peru’s impoverished rural south where Castillo had much of his support. 

The demonstrators have grown increasingly enraged as the death toll rose. As well as Boluarte’s resignation, they want new elections. Some also want to rewrite the Constitution and for Castillo to be released from detention.

While swathes of Peru have been roiled by violent chaos, Lima has so far been relatively unscathed. Protest leaders say they are now taking their protests to the capital because their voices have not been heard in their own regions.  

President Boluarte has called for the protests to be peaceful, while Labor Minister Alfonso Adrianzen urged employers to allow workers to work remotely on Thursday. 

Lima has been under a state of emergency over the last month, which suspends some civil liberties and gives extra powers to the security forces.

As of Wednesday, around 100 highways were blocked by the demonstrations. The blockades have disrupted the transportation of copper from some big mines, including Glencore’s Antapaccay and MMG Ltd’s Las Bambas. Peru is the world’s second largest producer of copper, with much of its production concentrated in the south.

bloomberg.com 01 18 2023