In this article, Sofia Waldron explains the recent protests against the government in Peru.
Protests outside of Congress In Lima,Peru after the resignation of Manuel Merino.
Picture Credit to:RODRIGO ABD / AP
On November 9th, Martín Vizcarra, the former president of Peru since 2018, was impeached by congress on a vote over allegations of accepting bribes of 2.3m soles (equivalent to 640,000 USD) during his term as governor of the Moquegua region. Vizcarra was a supervisor of an anti-graft campaign that became the cause for many confrontations within the Peruvian congress. In September 2019, Vizcarra dissolved Congress after many lawmakers were blocking his plan for anti-corruption. A few months later, A new congress was then re-elected in January 2020, but the legislative and the executive branches of the government still were with-holding tension. With this current environment in politics and the dastardly effects of covid-19 on the people and the economy, there is a cause for concern of a political crisis.
The abrupt impeachment and swearing-in of Speaker of Congress, Manuel Merino, triggered protesters to take to the streets to voice their opinion on the impeachment and demand the resignation of Merino. At first, the protests were peaceful but after fireworks and stones became involved, the police then reacted towards the protestors with tear gas. A protestor in Lima, Peru’s capital stated: “All of Peru is fired up, we're all very angry,". A total of 27 people were injured by the protests, with the number expected to be even a bit higher. Many international human rights groups have been vocal about cases of Police Brutality happening in these protests and their concern on how the police are using excessive force against protestors.
After about 5 days of protests, Merino announced the end of his short-lived presidency, a sigh of relief for many. Peru’s congress then named Franciso Sagasti as Peru’s new president who will lead the country until the next election, on April 11th. Francisco is the third president introduced within just one week. It is said, Sagasti will be handed the task of dealing with the effects of Covid-19, the ongoing pandemic that has left Peru as one of the worst-hit countries per capita and has soiled their economy. He will also be handed the task of the pressure of negotiating and working with the current political climate.
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