Peru is set to declare a nationwide 30-day state of emergency, suspending basic rights, in a bid to restore order amid widespread unrest, Defense Minister Alberto Otarola said Wednesday.
Roadblocks and vandalism across swathes of the Andean nation “need a forceful response,” the minister told reporters at the presidential palace in Lima. A curfew is also under consideration, he said.
Protests and hobbled logistics are threatening exports from the key copper and agriculture sectors. Demonstrators have attempted to shut down a pumping station near the Camisea field that supplies natural gas to generate half the country’s electricity, and to seize airports, forcing four of them to shut down. The threat of looting has forced stores to close, according to local media in Arequipa, Cusco and Ica.
The violent protests erupted after congress a week ago impeached left-wing President Pedro Castillo, who attempted to illegally dissolve the legislature amid an ongoing political crisis in the country. New President Dina Boluarte, appointed by congress in Castillo’s place, hasn’t managed to stabilize the situation and pledged to hold fresh elections as early as December 2023 as a concession to protesters.
The state of emergency will, however, escalate the political crisis “and raises a major risk of more human rights abuses and deaths that would only serve to inflame tensions further,” said Economist Intelligence Unit analyst Nicolas Saldias in a post on Twitter. “It’s a risky move by Boluarte, which underscores the scale of the protests in Peru.”
Castillo, who is being held at the same police facility where former President Alberto Fujimori is imprisoned, faces a potential 18 months in detention pending trial. A judge scheduled a hearing on his case for Thursday morning, with the prosecution alleging he could face 10 to 20 years in jail for his actions last week.
