Peruvian protesters engage in running battles with police after thousands march in Lima | Peru

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A rally billed as the “take over Lima” escalated into running battles between demonstrators and riot police amid stone-throwing and swirling tear gas Thursday night in the Peruvian capital.

Thousands of protesters from across the country poured into Lima earlier in the week for a massive rally to demand the resignation of President Dina Boulwart after nearly six weeks of unrest that left more than 50 people dead, including a police officer and eight people killed. He died as a result of strikes and blockades.

In a late-night televised address, Poulwart said the protests were in control of the police and that those responsible for violence and vandalism would not “go unpunished”, adding that “this is not a peaceful march”. “The government is firm and its ministry is more united than ever,” she said.

Bulwart claimed that the protests had “no social agenda” but instead sought to “break the rule of law, create chaos and anarchy and seize power”. It added that the attacks on three regional airports were pre-planned and would be punished “with all the strictness of the law”.

“To the Peruvian people, to those who want to work in peace and to those who generate protest actions, I say: I will not tire of inviting them to a good dialogue, to tell them that we are working for the country,” he said.

One person died and about 10 were injured in clashes with police in the southern city of Arequipa on Thursday, according to the Peruvian Ombudsman’s Office, when protesters tried to storm the airport. Many airports have been closed and large swathes of the country have been paralyzed by more than 120 roadblocks.

Riot police take cover after the “Tole Lima” rally on Thursday night. Photograph: Sebastian Castaneda/Reuters

Anger over the rising death toll has escalated the protests, which began in early December in support of ousted ex-president Pedro Castillo but turned overwhelmingly to demand Boulwart’s resignation, the closure of Congress and new elections. Boluarte was Castillo’s vice president and replaced him after he tried to shut down Congress and rule by decree on December 7.

Earlier on Thursday, thousands marched around Lima’s San Martín Square, many of them carrying signs pointing to their place of origin. Peasant security organizations known as ronderos carried traditional whips and indigenous women wore traditional colored skirts. There were chants of “Dina, you murderer, the people reject you” amid banners showing Peru’s first female president drenched in blood.

“We want justice, we don’t want our dead to be forgotten,” Zulema Chacon told the Guardian. “We want that usurper, she doesn’t represent us.”

“They are thieves and they lie to us and they lie to us,” shopkeeper Delia Zevalos, 52, said, referring to lawmakers in Congress, Peru’s most despised political apparatus. “People have woken up, we are no longer children, we know how to read and write … and no one can tell us what to do.”

Boulwart, who said last week she would not resign, met with a representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights earlier on Thursday. The UN agency said last week it was “deeply concerned about the escalation of violence” in Peru.

Protesters clashed with riot police at the Anachoaico Bridge in Arequipa earlier on Thursday. Photo: Diego Ramos/AFP/Getty Images

The US and UK ambassadors to Peru welcomed the meeting and issued statements on Thursday calling for calm and urging the government to seek dialogue.

In a Spanish-language statement on Twitter, US Ambassador Lisa Kenna said it was “essential for regime forces to respect human rights and protect citizens”.

In a similar statement, her British counterpart, Gavin Cook, called for “prompt and impartial investigations, measures of accountability and justice for victims of reports of human rights violations.”

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