Kicking, hundreds of demonstrators, hooded and equipped with shields, clashed with the police near the Peruvian Parliament on Saturday in Lima, in a new episode of violence which has left 48 people dead since December.
A protester was fatally injured during violent demonstrations on Saturday in Lima, the ombudsman's office announced on its Twitter account.
This is the first death in the Peruvian capital.
In the midst of tear gas canisters, the center of the Peruvian capital was once again the scene of scuffles between police and demonstrators, in a political crisis that has lasted for 52 days, leaving 48 dead in total, including one policeman.
“Dina resigns now”
These new clashes erupted around Parliament, after the refusal of deputies to give the green light to early elections.
“
We want dignity, Dina resigns now
,” chanted the demonstrators in reference to interim president Dina Boluarte, whose protesters are demanding the departure.
Dina Boluarte has ruled Peru since the December 7 dismissal by parliament of former president-elect Pedro Castillo, which sparked protests in the country.
The march in Lima began as a popular celebration before turning into a confrontation between a group of hooded demonstrators and riot police, leaving one dead and two injured, including a policeman.
The deaths so far have occurred in Puno and other Andean regions in the south of the country, home to historically disadvantaged populations, who supported Pedro Castillo and saw his election as revenge for what they see as contempt for Lima towards them.
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Protesters are demanding the advancement of presidential and legislative elections to 2023, a request made by the interim president and rejected by Parliament early Saturday morning.
A bill tabled on Friday provided for the organization of early elections in December 2023. To contain the incipient mobilization, Parliament had already advanced the ballot to April 2024.
The interim president, whose mandate theoretically runs until 2026, had called for such early elections in order to get the country “out
of the quagmire
”.
She lamented on Saturday that the parliament was "not
able to agree on a date for the general elections, during which Peruvians will be able to elect the new authorities freely and democratically
".
"
We urge MPs to put partisan interests aside and put Peru's interests
first," she tweeted.
From Lima airport, from where medicines and medical equipment were sent to the south of the country paralyzed by roadblocks, Dina Boluarte had assured that she did not want to "
cling to power
".
