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Protesters say the new president “was not elected by the people” and reject corruption.
Thousands of people staged massive marches across Peru on Thursday 12-N to push back the transitional government chaired by Congressman Manuel Merino after the removal of Martín Vizcarra by the Head of State.
A few hours after Merino was sworn in to the cabinet of ministers led by the conservative Ántero Flores-Aráoz, citizens took to the streets for the fourth consecutive day to claim that the new ruler “was not elected by the people”, demanding the renewal of the political class and reject corruption.
The mobilization, which in Lima concentrated more than 15,000 people in the central Plaza San Martín, also brought together groups of demonstrators in other districts of Lima such as Miraflores, Barranco, Lince, San Miguel, Chosica, Comas and Surco.
The call, made through social media, was also well received in cities in the interior of the country such as Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Cusco, Madre de Dios, Huancayo, Iquitos, Puno and even in Tumbes, the province where Merino was elected member of Congress last January.
That’s why I defend you
“I am shocked by the number of people taking to the streets all over Peru, this indicates the indignation of society,” Cardinal Pedro Barreto, archbishop of the Andean city of Huancayo, told RPP Noticias radio.
The massive marches had common slogans like “Peru, I love you, that’s why I defend you” and “Merino, he’s not my president,” alluding to the fact that the new head of state presided over Congress and was sworn in as ruler after the removal of the Legislative Assembly in Martín Vizcarra.
The large concentration in Plaza San Martín and the nearby boulevards developed without reporting, in principle, serious incidents with riot police.
“Let go of all the corrupt,” harangues the participants as he carried Peruvian flags and banners, as well as masks and face shields to care for Covid-19, which left more than 928,000 cases and 35,000 deaths in the country.
The other big rally in Lima was in the tourist district of Miraflores, where protesters gathered peacefully in Central Park and then marched down Larco Avenue, claiming that the politicians “messed with the wrong people”.
“My deep respect and appreciation for young people and people who do nothing but raise their voices to protest in defense of what they love: Peru. Thank you for giving us an example of national dignity”, he said in this regard on Twitter on General Walter Martos, who was Vizcarra’s prime minister until last Monday.
Refusal in the provinces
The rejection of the new Merino government was also expressed in demonstrations and marches held in numerous cities in the interior of the country, including northern Tumbes, the birthplace of the current ruler.
“Nuco does not represent us,” said a large banner carried by young demonstrators, alluding to a name given locally to Merino, who led about two thousand people through the central streets of that city on the border with Ecuador.
In the central Andean city of Huancayo, another 5,000 people gathered, mostly young students, while in central Andean Huánuco the demonstrators were led by a large banner with the slogan “Peru belongs to the people, not to politicians”.
The protests were repeated in both the north of Cajamarca and the Andean south of Ayacucho, where groups of citizens carried banners with slogans such as “There can be no peace without a new justice”.
Right to protest
After national and international organizations warned of the excessive use of force that the police used against protesters in the previous two days, the Office of the Ombudsman asked the Merino government to guarantee the exercise of the right to peaceful mobilization .
The Ombudsman’s Office stressed that the police should use force only on the basis of the “principles of necessity, proportionality and reasonableness”, in accordance with the Peruvian constitution and the precepts of the United Nations.
In principle, this request was met by riot police groups that monitored all demonstrations on Thursday, although clashes were reported at night on Abancay Avenue, Lima, where police fired tear gas.
After swearing in his cabinet of ministers, Merino asked the citizens to calm down and assured him that he will not make “any traumatic changes” during the period he will have to lead until next July 28.
“We respect those who have a dissenting opinion, but we ask for calm so that any demonstration takes place in peace,” Merino said in reference to the new day of national protest.
However, representatives of his new government later claimed that the mobilizations are encouraged by opposition political groups and even linked them to extremist movements.
“It is not a spontaneous protest, I saw that there is an incentive, there are posters, there are calls”, said the new Minister of Justice, Delia Muñoz, before adding that he saw “that there is abundant propaganda on social network “.
As the demonstrators continued through the central streets of Lima, in the neighborhoods of the Peruvian capital, cacerolazos and horns were heard again, adding to the rejection of the Merino regime.
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