A step, albeit short and belated, in the direction of the demonstrators.
Interim President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, asked Parliament to do so today bring forward the parliamentary elections to December 2023: The expected date was currently April 2024. The move aims to calm the protests and pull the country out of the political-institutional crisis sparked by the sacking and arrest of the incumbent president in early December last year. Pedro Castillo, which had clashed head-on with a centre-right opposition-dominated parliament after months of instability and conflicting policies. The event provoked the ire of the poorest sections of Peruvian society, who flooded the streets of Lima and other cities, often blocking tourist attractions that draw throngs of travellers, with three basic demands: Release of Castillo, Boluarte’s resignation, new elections as soon as possible.
The suppression of the demonstrations through the massive use of force by the police has not stopped the protests, only made them more violent. At least 46 people are estimated to have died in the last few weeks of chaos. It remains to be seen whether the President’s latest decision will have any effect or whether it will be seen as likely “too little, too late”.