Peru closed Machu Picchu on Saturday January 21, a tourist gem and main attraction in the country shaken since December by protests that have left 46 dead, while the situation remains tense in Lima.

The authorities have declared a state of emergency in several regions including Lima and Cuzco, the country's tourist capital, without stopping the protest movement.

"The closure of the Inca trail network (land access, Inca Trail) and the Llaqta (citadel) of Machu Picchu has been ordered due to the social situation and to preserve the safety of visitors," the ministry said. of Culture in a press release.

The railway, the only way to get to the site - apart from the march - has been cut for several days, the track having been damaged by demonstrators.

According to the company that operates it, rails were removed by the protesters.

Vital tourism

At least 400 tourists - including 300 foreigners - are stranded at the foot of the site, in Aguas Calientes.

"We don't know if a train will pick us up. All the tourists here are queuing up to register" for an evacuation, Chilean tourist Alem Lopez told AFP on Friday.

Tourists "cannot go out because the railway has been damaged in different places," Tourism Minister Luis Fernando Helguero said on Friday evening. 

“Some tourists have chosen to walk to Piscacucho but it is a walk of six hours or more and very few people can do it”.

Piscacucho is the closest village to Machu Picchu connected to the road network.

In December, tourists were also stranded in Machu Picchu before being evacuated by a special train, supervised by the police and teams of railway workers to repair the track.

Tourism represents between 3 and 4% of the GDP and provides employment to all strata of the economy.

A protester died on Saturday of his injuries after clashes between police and protests in Ilave, southern Peru, on Friday, the local People's Advocate said.

This brings to 46 the death toll since December 7 and the start of protests demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of Parliament and a Constituent Assembly.

The European Union on Saturday condemned the violence in Peru and the "disproportionate" use of force by the police against demonstrators, calling on the authorities to quickly find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

The EU "deplores the very large number of victims since the beginning of the demonstrations", declared a spokesperson for the Twenty-Seven.

"I don't know what they are accused of"

The unrest began after the dismissal and arrest of left-wing President Pedro Castillo, accused of having attempted a coup d'etat in order to dissolve the Parliament which was about to oust him from power.

In Lima, the day after two days of mobilization, with the arrival in the capital of demonstrators from the poor Andean regions, the situation remained tense.

Security forces shot down with an armored vehicle the gate of the University of San Marcos (downtown) to expel the protesters from the provinces who had been sleeping there for several days.

The police present in large numbers searched the occupants, sometimes forcing them to lie on the ground in front of the university, noted AFP journalists.

Many demonstrators were taken away by the police without their destination being known.

"I have relatives who are there. I'm worried. We don't know what can happen. I don't know what we're accusing them of," said Luz Maria Ramirez, 62, who came from Andahuaylsas (south) , the epicenter of the protests in December.

Lawyers but also prosecutors went there "to verify the legality of police operations and guarantee" the rights of people, according to a press release from the prosecution.

Thousands of people, mostly Andean peasants, converged last week and earlier this week on Lima for a large rally that took place on Thursday.

With AFP

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