The other day Saulo Gamarra was invited by a very dear family to a lunch. Some members live outside the city of Cusco and came to visit for this special occasion. Between hugs and kisses, the greetings were very emotional and full of joy. The topics of the conversations were about the latest adventures they had lived while the rest looked carefully at the interlocutor with an attentive smile. When we finally sat down to enjoy the delicious lunch, the conversation about the national reality of Peru inevitably came to the fore. While one of them was exposing his ideas about the situation, others were already responding without finishing listening to the entire argument. They constantly interrupt each other and the one who speaks the loudest prevails.
Coup d'Etat
On December 7, 2022, former President Pedro Castillo announces a coup. He called for dissolving the legislative and judicial power. An unconstitutional act that would have made him a dictator.
Meanwhile, Saulo Gamarra got on a bus and he hears that most people celebrated such an event "finally the corrupt congress is leaving" or phrases like "it was about time" excited the rest of the passengers to continue developing phrases in favor of the coup. After 10 minutes he gets off the bus heading to the dental clinic. The comment was inevitable among the workers, amazed at what had happened. After a couple of hours, the team of Con Corazón found out that President Pedro Castillo, the same one who announced the coup, was detained.
The armed forces had turned their backs on him and Congress immediately proceeded with the presidential vacancy. During that time, Pedro Castillo was on his way to the Mexican Embassy to request political asylum. In the middle of a normal day in Lima, that is, with dense and chaotic traffic, his vehicle moved slowly. His driver and personal security, by superior orders of the armed forces, proceeded with the capture of the former president together with other policemen, who pointed their weapons at the vehicle. Immediately after, he was arrested and taken away, amid cameras and drones, thus preventing his escape to Mexico, that was live and direct.
The Protests
By constitutional succession, the vice president, Dina Boluarte, assumed the presidency, who was also a member of the leftist party. She assumed the political command in the midst of the confusion of the town. It is here where the right wing begins with the negotiations to allow the country to be governable, something that the Castillo government never had, due to the multiple vacancy attempts promoted by the right.
Political gestures are important, especially appearances in photos and on television. Unfortunately, President Boluarte appeared surrounded by right-wing congressmen, who made the life of the Castillo government very difficult. The parliamentarians of the left wing still did not take a position on the situation.
When the people noticed these gestures (most of them from the left wing), in addition to the agitations of the local political leaders, the protests began in a violent way. They decided to paralyze the regions of Peru, especially the southern zone. The first actions were to break windows of the open stores and also of the vehicles that were circulating. They also seized the airports, which inevitably ended in clashes with the police, with a balance of 25 deaths up to that moment, hundreds injured and a country deeply divided by the mandate of the new president, now a former ally of Castillo.
The town gave a truce for Christmas and the New Year, announcing to return to the protests on January 4, 2023. That day it seemed that the demonstrations were not going to have force since the strike threats did not materialize until a day later, where the population turned to the streets to star in dramatic fights between citizens, the armed forces and the police.
Who is the Leader of the Protestants?
Most of the people who protest in the city of Cusco come from the high Andean rural area. We noticed that they come in turns, that is, more than a hundred buses from the north of the city and after two days of making chaos, they return to their place of origin. On that same day, another fleet of buses full of people arrives from the East zone to continue the violent protests, also for a couple of days and then return home. This is how they have been organized, in turns. Who is behind this? is the question everyone asks. While it is true that there is a high degree of spontaneity on the part of the protestants, there are also leaders who work from anonymity, so as not to be identified and brought before justice.
People's Requests not met
Basically, these are the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, a new political constitution and the call for new general elections, both for president and congressmen. Some say that these requests are unfeasible, others insist on doing it by force.
Unfortunately, neither the government nor the congress manage to reach a consensus and decide to continue with their positions until the year 2026. They ignore the people. This situation does not encourage the cessation of the protests at all, if not, on the contrary, it exacerbates them even more, causing a march of the protesters towards the city of Lima. They proudly call it “The Taking of Lima”. Meanwhile, in the province of Puno, the protesters take over the airport, invading it and paralyzing regular flight operations. Product of this, 15 deaths in a period of two hours. A massacre, a lack of authority management by the armed forces. On the other hand, apart from destroying buildings, business stores and cars etc., a group of people decides to burn a policeman alive. A horror.
Now there are almost 60 deaths and nobody wants to take charge. One strategy by politicians, to avoid responsibility for these deaths, is to call protestants "terrorists." In this way they could lighten the size of the blame of some politicians, who permanently make irresponsible decisions.
The Peruvian authorities have allowed the excessive and lethal use of force as the only form of government response to the social outcry of thousands of communities that today demand dignity and a political system that guarantees their human rights.
Impact on our Organization
When the people call to protest, this has a direct impact on the development of the activities of Con Corazón.
- During a strike in the city, the transportation system is paralyzed, consequently, patients do not arrive for their scheduled appointment at the dental clinic.
- Interprovincial highways are also blocked, which prevents the passage of vehicles. This does not allow us to go to the regular outreaches in Marampaqui.
Although, knowing that the strikes are temporary, we are always attentive to find an opportunity and go to Marampaqui during the truce periods, this in coordination with the inhabitants of the area.
Daily Life Affected
When the roads are blocked, gas, food, gasoline and basic necessities do not reach their destination, producing an immediate increase in prices, due to the shortage of these. Most food rots on the road since the trucks can't move.
There were times when these products were completely exhausted, to the point of not being able to take the vehicles out onto the streets and start cooking with wood and fire. Many restaurants and fuel stations close. The markets were almost empty. Unfortunately, this way of living lasted nearly two weeks, putting people in an uncomfortable and unpredictable situation. Fortunately, these days, these activities have returned to normality.
A Wounded Country
When politicians see a light at the end of the tunnel, they build more tunnel. We are convinced that the political will to fix this situation is in the hands of the country's leaders, their gestures and decisions. Those of the right wing blame those of the left wing and vice versa. The government blames parliament and they blame the government. The people blame everyone and exempt themselves from their responsibility. The truth is that we have all played a role in the path to the destruction of our country.
We know that the family is the basic unit of society, where the person's identity is built, their autonomy is protected and it is the base from which they project themselves in the social sphere. If the family is divided, society is divided. Unfortunately, this division is reflected in the discussions that take place over family lunch. We no longer listen to each other, intolerance prevails.
Copyright all pictures in this article: Wayka
April 2023
