This is how the political crisis in Peru goes

(CNN Spanish) – Peru is still going through critical moments due to the recent crisis sparked by the impeachment of today’s former President Pedro Castillo, who was ousted from office and arrested last week after trying to dissolve Congress, before facing a vacant motion against him. Offenses of rebellion and conspiracy.

These events displeased some of Castillo’s followers, who took to the streets in various provinces within the country demanding the resignation of incumbent President Dina Boulwart. The looming political crisis around Peru has left many dead and scores injured, and at least two of the country’s main airports remain closed due to attacks on their infrastructure.

This is what you should know about the crisis in Peru.

Protests and the state of emergency in Peru

Various protests of hundreds or thousands of people have been held since last week in some cities in the interior of the country and in Lima, seeking to prevent Boulwart, 60, from fulfilling the current government mandate until July 2026, Reuters reported.

The demonstrations in Peru have left a balance At least seven deadAccording to the Office of the Ombudsman, which added that there are also eight patients hospitalized due to the protests and another 30 people have already been discharged.

On Monday, the Peruvian government reported, through the Council of Ministers, the issuance of a higher decree declaring a state of emergency in the provinces of Abancay, Andahuaylas, Chincheros, Grau, Cotabamba, Antabamba and Aymaris in the province of Apurimac. imposed a state of emergency for 60 days; During this time, the right to “inviolability of the home, freedom of passage through the national territory, freedom of assembly and personal liberty and security” was suspended. according to the decree.

In dozens of roads in at least eleven provinces of Peru, there were dead ends due to demonstrations amid the deteriorating political situation in the country, According to the latest information from the National Police. One of the provinces most affected by the sieges is Arequipa, with at least 16 sieges in the entire region, as well as Cusco and Abancay.

#PNPInforma 🚨 | This is a nationwide road setting. updated [12DIC2022/ 22:00 horas] pic.twitter.com/YpnngOAdSq

Peruvian National Police (PoliciaPeru) December 13, 2022

Peruvian Prime Minister Pedro Angulo said Monday night that some ministers will travel to areas of social conflict to promote dialogue and promote peace and governance in Peru.

In Lima, the Peruvian capital, hundreds of protesters crowded outside Congress, setting fires, throwing objects and clashing with police, who responded by firing tear gas to disperse the protesters.

A source close to the company told Reuters that the protests intensified on Monday over a blockade by a community in Cusco of a main road used by the Las Pampas copper mine, which is owned by China’s MMG Ltd. Peru is the second largest producer of copper in the world.

Earlier, indigenous communities declared an indefinite strike in Apurímac, where Las Bambas operates, which has suffered from constant protests from communities demanding greater benefits from mining exploitation.

Protesters clash with riot police during a protest on the Pan American Highway in the northern cone of Arequipa, Peru, on December 12, 2022. (DIEGO RAMOS/AFP via Getty Images)

Airports closed

Within the framework of the demonstrations, one of the greatest moments of tension occurred on Monday before noon when dozens of demonstrators took control of Arequipa’s international airport, evading security and setting fire to the control booth.

Aeropuertos Andinos de Perú stated in a statement that dozens of protesters entered Arequipa airport, “destroying the security infrastructure and setting fire to the control booth.” Because of the events that occurred, the authorities evacuated all the people who were in the air terminal and closed the airport. The authorities stated that they are working to regain control of operations in the short term “when conditions exist that ensure the safety of passengers, the team and the entire airport community.”

Meanwhile, the international airport in the southern Peruvian city of Cusco was temporarily closed Monday night as protests calling for political change continued across the country. The Peruvian Corporation for Airports and Commercial Aviation (Corpac) said that the protesters tried to storm the airport building. They said they had requested support from the Peruvian National Police to protect the building.

So far, there have been no reports of injuries, arrests or damage at the airport, according to Korbak.

Polwart seeks snap election

Although President Dina Boulwart had hoped to end her presidential term in 2026, to complete Pedro Castillo’s five-year term, she announced Sunday night that she would send the Congress of the Republic a snap election draft in April 2024.

However, early elections depended not only on Boulwart’s will, but also on Congress. For this, it is necessary to submit a bill to Congress, because to hold presidential elections it is necessary to amend the Constitution, because the mandate in this country is that the term of the presidency lasts five years.

The sitting president noted that before snap elections are held, her government will promote in Congress a reform of the political system that allows for “more efficient, transparent and participatory government, free from the practice of corruption and legitimized through citizen participation.”

“The country is going through difficult times,” the president said.

Castillo reappears in prison and says that Boulwart is a “rapist”.

After days of silence following his arrest for trying to shut down Congress on December 7, former President Pedro Castillo sent a message on social media asking for his immediate release, calling Pouluart a “rapist” and saying he would not quit his jobs.

“I am speaking to you at the most difficult moment of my government, degraded, incommunicado, abused and kidnapped, but still clothed in your confidence and your struggle…,” Castillo wrote on Twitter on Monday, adding that he would not resign or relinquish office. duties as president, and said that President Baluarte is a usurper who uses the same strategies as the “right coup”.

Dear great and patient people of Peru: I, @employee, the same person that you all elected me 16 months ago to the constitutional position of President of the Republic. I speak to you at the most difficult moment of my government… (1/4)

– Pedro Castillo Terones (@PedroCastilloTe) December 12, 2022

Pedro Castillo’s attorney, Ronald Atensio, confirmed to CNN that the letter is genuine and corresponds with his client.

The governments of Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia affirmed their support for Pedro Castillo, whom they recognized as President of Peru. In a statement released by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the governments of these four countries expressed concern about the situation of the former president and demanded that Castillo’s rights be respected and that judicial protection be guaranteed for the former president.

“Our governments call on all actors involved in the previous process to give priority to the will of citizens expressed at the ballot box,” the joint statement said.

Castillo’s problems with justice

The former president is detained at the headquarters of the National Special Operations Division (Dinos) after Congress approved the vacancy of his position, announcing that he would dissolve that authority.

This Tuesday, Castillo will hold an appeals hearing for his initial detention. The former president faces the crime of rebellion, for violating the constitutional order by ordering the closure of Congress on December 7, as well as for “conspiracy at the expense of the state,” Reported by the Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office last week.

Castillo’s defense denied the charges of insurrection and conspiracy against the president and dismissed the charges from the attorney general’s office.

This Tuesday, the Peruvian attorney general’s office filed a constitutional complaint with Congress against former President Pedro Castillo and several officials in his government.

According to a lawsuit document obtained by CNN, Benavides accuses Castillo of being a co-author of the crimes of insurrection and conspiracy and a writer of the crimes of abuse of power and serious disturbance of the public peace. The document is addressed to the President of Congress, Jose Williams Zapata.

–With information from CNN en Español’s Ana Cocalon, Gerardo Lemos and Jimena de la Quintana, Reuters.