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Two killed in protests against new government in Peru

Vice President Dina Boluarte swears in as Peru’s new leader after Congress removes President Pedro Castillo in Lima, Peru, on December 07, 2022. (Photo by Anadolu Agency)

New clashes have broken out between Peru’s police and supporters of ousted President Pedro Castillo, leaving two people killed.

Local media cited the head of Peru’s ombudsman’s office, Eliana Revollar, as saying that two teens died during clashes in the city of Andahuaylas, in the Andean region of Apurimac, on Sunday “possibly as a result of gunshot wounds.”

The clashes also left at least five injured, including a police officer.

The demonstrators called for fresh elections rather than allowing new President Dina Boluarte to stay in power until Castillo’s term ends in 2026.

Boluarte, a former prosecutor who had served as Castillo’s vice president, was quickly sworn in to replace him after he was sacked by Congress and arrested on a charge of rebellion on Wednesday after he tried to dissolve the legislature and install an emergency government.

The protesters on Sunday also called for a national strike, the dissolution of the Congress and the release of the leftist Castillo.

In the wake of the protests, which also took place in Lima and other cities across the country’s interior such as Cajamarca, Arequipa, Huancayo, Cusco and Puno, Boluarte announced that she would ask the Congress to bring the elections forward two years.

In a statement on Monday, Boluarte said she will submit a bill to Congress in the “coming days” to bring general elections forward to April 2024.

Boluarte is the country’s sixth president since 2016.

Castillo’s 17-month rule was overshadowed by six investigations against him and his family. It has also seen mass protests calling for his ouster, and a power struggle with the opposition-backed Congress.


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