The President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, asked Parliament on Friday January 27 to advance the general elections to December 2023, the calendar of which had already been modified for April 2024. A decision taken in order to accede to a demand from the demonstrators and to try to get the country out of the crisis.
"We are submitting this bill for the consideration of ministers in order to advance the elections to December 2023," Dina Boluarte, interim president, said at Lima airport after the dismissal in early December by Parliament of the former President-elect Pedro Castillo, which led to violent protests in the country that left at least 46 people dead.
"No more blockages and violence"
When Dina Boluarte, who was vice-president, took office, the electoral calendar was set for 2026, that is to say at the end of the mandate that her predecessor should have fulfilled.
But to contain the growing discontent, the president had already proposed to Parliament to bring forward the presidential and legislative elections to April 2024. A first vote of the unicameral chamber on December 20 had validated the bill, and a second was to ratify it. .
"However, the protests continue, there are more blockages and violence," acknowledged Dina Boluarte on Friday.
Several roads are blocked in the country, which begins to experience shortages and soaring prices, Peru is at a standstill and its tourist jewel of Machu Picchu has closed its doors.
Demonstrations continue daily and protesters relentlessly demand the immediate resignation of the President and Parliament, and the establishment of a Constituent Assembly.
Above all, this crisis reflects the huge gap between the capital and the poor provinces, notably the southern Andean region, which supported Pedro Castillo and saw his election as revenge for what they consider to be Lima's contempt.
With AFP
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