What is happening in Peru?

Protests have broken out around the country since former president Pedro Castillo was removed from office last year, with demonstrators blocking roadways and creating delays at the airport in Arequipa, the country’s second-largest city. 

As a result of widespread looting and devastation, including the burning of police stations, regional prosecutors’ offices, and tax offices, these protests, which first started in December 2022 in poor areas of southern Peru, have since spread to the north and east of the country. 

The southern city of Andahuaylas, which served as the epicenter for the protests, saw the deaths of six protestors. Five of the protestors who died from gunshot wounds during altercations with the police were minors.

Since then, the government has proclaimed lockdowns and states of emergency, but none have been successful.

How did this start?

Castillo was ousted from office after making an attempt to briefly suspend congress in an effort to escape being punished with “moral incapacity,” a crime brought on by a number of corruption allegations. 

And just a few moments later, his illegitimate attempt to grab power over the country was unsuccessful. As soon as the coup started, his most trusted cabinet members quit, along with his political allies in the military and police.

Castillo wanted to go to the Mexican consulate to seek safety, but his own security team prevented him from doing so and instead took him to a police station, where he was detained and ultimately charged with insurrection. 

Congress, in the meantime, decided to impeach him by a large margin without engaging in debate. 

They decided that because this behavior and demeanor wasn’t uncommon for Castillo, it would be the right thing to do.

Dina Boluarte, Castillo’s vice president, was sworn in as his successor, and the ousted leader was sent to Barbadillo prison, which is located in a police camp outside of Lima and is also the residence of another former president and coup-maker, 84-year-old Alberto Fujimori.

Breaking Barriers

Only weeks after the outing for Castillo, his vice-president, Dina Boluarte, was sworn in as his replacement. The 60-year-old lawyer took the oath of office and became the first female leader in the more than 200-year history of the independent republic. 

Yet, after only minimal time in presidency, she suffers critics from the world, asking for her resignation.

Her  first order of business would be to address government corruption, which is what caused the fall of Castillo.

“There has been an attempted coup … that has not found an echo in the institutions, nor in the street,” Boluarte said in an interview with NPR . She called for a political truce to install a national unity government.

“What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country.”

The Misogyny

This new president, is now being criticized and hated by millions of people. 

While many people claim that Boluarte is a bad individual who committed crimes against humanity, yet they defend Castillo. 

The excuse being that he was a better ruler than Boluarte, and that he sympathies and relates to  the Indigenous community in Peru, but what about his corruption?

So, is this really about morality or sex? What makes a corrupt man more equipped to run a nation?

So, what next? 

Months after the start of these attacks, these are still occurring and the population of Peru urges for a change of leadership. 

Many wonder what will happen next, and while that is still up for discussion, many can assume that the leadership of this powerful woman will lead to some historical landmarks in Peru and Central America. 

There clearly is a scheme within this problem, when it comes to choosing Peru’s savior, the population is more inclined to run to a morally bankrupt corrupt male politician, than a powerful woman who may actually have the capability to bring about real change. Is this who we are? Is this who we have become?