Peruvian social organizations, federations and trade unions have resumed demonstrations on Wednesday to call on the Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte, to hold new elections and close the Congress.
The demonstrators have managed to block a stretch of the Interoceanic highway in the area of Challhuanca, province of Aymaraes, while clashes have also been reported in another stretch of road at the exit of Arequipa.
In view of the blockades that have occurred on the roads in different parts of the country, Boluarte has reiterated his call for peace and to avoid violence, since this «does not lead to anything positive» and «constitutes a delay», as reported by the Andina news agency.
The citizen protests initiated after the dismissal and arrest of former president Pedro Castillo -which stopped as a consequence of Christmas- have so far resulted in at least 27 dead and numerous wounded.
In the midst of the protests, Peru’s Prime Minister, Alberto Otarola, has announced that in the next few hours they will announce the successor to the resigned head of Peru’s National Intelligence Directorate (DINI), General Juan Carlos Liendo O’Connor.
In his resignation letter, O’Connor has cited as reasons «serious complications to comply with the functions assigned according to law». Hours earlier, he had told the press that he was resigning due to clear disagreements with Boluarte, who in an interview disagreed with the idea of describing the protests as «terrorist insurgency».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
