On the last weekend, July 1st and 2nd, the National Meeting of Organizations and Organized People took place in Lima, the capital of the country. It brought together representatives from all regions of Peru, connected to the main Peruvian social movements and the country’s major labor unions – the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) [Central Unitary of Workers] and the Central General de Trabajadores Peruanos (CGTP) [General Central of Peruvian Workers].
The main resolution of this important meeting was the call for a National Popular Journey of Permanent Mobilization against the ultra-authoritarian government of the illegitimate president Dina Boluarte. The proposal is to carry out a series of mobilizations throughout the country for 10 consecutive days, from July 19th to 28th. On July 28th, which marks the celebrations of Peru’s Independence Day, a significant demonstration is planned to take place in Lima.
On June 7th, it marked 6 months since the parliamentary coup that removed the elected president Pedro Castillo, who remains imprisoned to this day, and installed the vice president, Dina Boluarte. Castillo is a political prisoner.
The Boluarte government is illegitimate and resembles a true dictatorship.
Since December 7th of last year, there has been a significant political shift in Peru. From being a former ally of Castillo, Boluarte has become a direct agent of the most reactionary and corrupt sectors of the Peruvian parliament. She is primarily supported by right-wing and far-right parties and has been carrying out a government that closely resembles a true dictatorship.
There was a previous commitment to call for early elections, but with each passing day, this idea is being abandoned by the current illegitimate government. Initially, there was talk of holding elections in 2023, which was the main demand of Peruvian social and democratic movements. However, Boluarte herself later mentioned calling for elections in 2024, only to abandon the idea later on. It seems that the reactionary and corrupt majority in Congress wants her to stay in power until the end of Pedro Castillo’s stolen mandate, that is, until the year 2026.
The Peruvian social movements and the left have not remained silent in the face of this parliamentary coup and have organized various actions and protest rallies in defense of democracy. Unfortunately, these demonstrations have been met with harsh and criminal repression by the current government. To give you an idea, social movements and left-wing organizations have reported that 68 Peruvians have lost their lives due to the repressive actions, with 49 of them directly killed by firearms used by the armed forces and the police of the South American country.
Last month, in fact, Veronika Mendoza, former presidential candidate for the left-wing party Nuevo Perú [New Peru], was in Brussels at the European Parliament, denouncing what she called “extrajudicial executions” and demanding an end to Boluarte’s illegitimate government and the immediate calling of new elections in Peru.
Another political absurdity was the deployment of over 1,200 US military personnel to Peru, authorized by both Boluarte and the majority of Congress, to assist in the preparation of the Peruvian armed forces. This is a clear attack on the country’s sovereignty and an extreme level of US interventionism, which will undoubtedly be turned against the protests and further amplify the criminal repression against democratic demonstrations.
Recently, the Brazilian government accepted a proposal put forth by the federal deputies from PSOL [Socialism and Liberty Party] to halt the sale of weapons to Peru as long as this illegitimate political regime continues.
Main demands of the movement
The National Popular Journey of Permanent Mobilization has the following main demands:
1. Immediate end to the illegitimate government of Boluarte and the current Congress.
2. Immediate calling of elections for the Presidency and a new National Congress.
3. Release of all political prisoners and accountability for those responsible for the killings during protests in defense of democracy.
4. Immediate withdrawal of US military from the country.
5. Convening of a new Constituent Assembly in Peru.
Unified under these banners, the social movements aim to carry out the largest mobilization campaign this month against the true Peruvian dictatorship and for the restoration of democratic rule in the country. This is a fundamental condition to resume the struggle for political, economic, and social changes that the Peruvian working people so desperately need and demand.
Comentários