Protests continue in Peru, activists and mobilized peoples are scorching society with aroused actions in an effort to overturn the reactionary plans to effectively solidify their anti-democratic takeover of power.
Reports are coming out of the recent tragedies and struggles going on, since President Boluarte requested Congress to vote in favor for a legilstaion that “proposes that the first round of elections be held in October 2023, with a potential second round to be held in December 2023. Accordingly, the new head of state would be sworn in on January 1, 2024 and finish their mandate on July 28, 2029, while parliamentarians would begin their mandates on December 31, 2023 and conclude on July 26, 2029.”
Despite, the popular demand is for the Constituent Assembly to assert their will and decision to decide who will become their elected president.
In retaliation to these unpopular, anti-democratic moves, civil disobedience protests are still raging. Knock LA reports, “many human rights organizations, political activists, journalists, and members of Congress went to the hospitals and police stations to monitor the status of those injured and detained.”
“55-year-old Víctor Santisteban Yacsavilca was declared dead on Saturday, January 28, after he was shot in the head with a pellet gun by the National Police of Peru. Yacsavilca is the first protester to die in Peru’s capital Lima since the protests against the coup began in December. Videos of him being shot show him standing with a group of journalists, medical brigade members, and other protesters, and falling to the ground immediately when police begin shooting at the group. Subsequent videos show a large pool of blood on the ground where Yacsavilca fell.” People's Dispatch
It remains unclear how this social crisis will be resolved, whether the people will successfully leverage their demands and release Castillo, to save their democracy, or if the coup will establish an illegitimate regime into power, persisting the civil disobedience. Time will tell.