A protester died on Saturday in Lima, bringing to 58 the number of victims during protests in Peru that have spanned nearly two months to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte as well as members of Congress.
The Ombudsman’s Office confirmed at night on its Twitter account the death of Víctor Santisteban Yacsavilca, 55, and indicated that the doctors at the Grau Emergency Hospital coordinate the proceedings with the prosecutor’s office.
Santisteban received a serious head injury while demonstrating against the Boluarte government on the street called Abancay in the historic center. Another injured person was admitted to an intensive care unit.
Protests have multiplied in Peru since Boluarte assumed the presidency on December 7 after Parliament removed that day then-president Pedro Castillo, who had previously tried to dissolve Congress.
The protesters demand the resignation of Boluarte and the members of Congress, the call for a constituent assembly, the advancement of the elections and justice for those who died during the protests. Other nonconformists demand the freedom and reinstatement of Castillo in the presidency.
In another area of the historic center, hundreds of protesters remained until late at night very close to the popular Plaza San Martín, where they usually congregate to protest.
Several began to dance, others fueled a fire with logs, and a couple of musicians played a protest song. Then the police arrived and dispersed them by throwing dozens of tear gas canisters at them.
“They are damned, but we will not get tired,” said Julián Martínez, who had a Peruvian flag on his back with the phrase: “Dina assassina.”
Several patrons at a bar next to Plaza San Martín drank mojitos as they watched the protest but abandoned their glasses and fled when tear gas invaded the area.
Then the streets around the square were silent to the point that the chirping of the crickets that inhabit the gardens of the square could be heard.