Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Peru’s capital, Lima, to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, after dozens of caravans of demonstrators from regions across the country have arrived in the city in recent days.
A month and a half after the beginning of the social outbreak in which Peru is immersed and with a death toll that has exceeded 50 deaths since December 7, the national strike celebrates a day of protests marked by the heavy police deployment of the Peruvian authorities, with more than 11,000 security agents in the streets of the capital.
The country’s authorities have asked the demonstrators for calm and have appealed for them to express their demands in a peaceful manner. In fact, the president herself appealed last Monday to Peruvian citizens to carry out the ‘Toma de Lima’ «in peace».
During the day on Thursday there have been clashes between demonstrators and security forces in various parts of the city, as well as the burning of street furniture, the closure of part of the public transportation system, and the launching of tear gas by the police in an effort to quell the disturbances.
Likewise, at least ten teams of the Lima Fire Department have gone to extinguish the fire in an office building in Plaza San Martin, in downtown Lima, near the Palace of Justice, as reported by RPP radio station.
The Peruvian National Police (PNP) has denounced attacks against the forces of law and order as well as the destruction of public and private property, which is why they have proceeded to the «legal use of force, guaranteeing respect for human rights».
It has also called for «calm and peace», asking protesters that the right to protest is not stained with acts of violence, as expressed by the police body in a statement released on the social network Twitter.
So far there have been no reports about the official number of injured in the protests, although a woman was reportedly injured after a tear gas bomb thrown by the police hit her left eye, according to ‘La República’.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
