Peru: Timeline Of Unrest Since 'first Poor President' Ousted

Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jan, 2023 ) :Deadly protests have gripped Peru since Congress threw out the country's first working-class president, Pedro Castillo, in December after he tried to dissolve the parliament and rule by decree.

Here is a timeline of the most recent upheaval in a country that has been buffeted by a wave of political crises over the past two decades.

- Dec 7, 2022: Bid to dissolve Congress - A left-wing former schoolteacher who was the surprise winner of the presidential election in July 2021, Castillo is under sustained attack from the right and scrutiny from prosecutors.

In a televised address to the nation on December 7, he dissolves Congress before it can debate a third impeachment motion (two earlier impeachment bids failed) and says he will form an emergency government and rule by decree.

- Dec 7: Impeachment. Successor installed - Lawmakers dismiss Castillo's attempt to dissolve Congress, and vote overwhelmingly to remove him from office for "moral incapacity" to exercise power.

He is arrested for "rebellion".

Vice President Dina Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer, becomes Peru's first woman president.

She says she intends to serve out the rest of Castillo's term, until July 2026.

Hundreds of protesters, some of whom support the former president and others who oppose him, take to the streets of Lima.

- Dec 8: Supreme Court - The United States praises Peru for ensuring "democratic stability" and pledges to work with Boluarte.

Castillo appears before the Supreme Court via videoconference. The judge keeps him behind bars for seven days.

- Dec 10: Demonstrations grow - Pro-Castillo protests spread, with demonstrators blocking roads and burning tyres across the country.

Boluarte unveils a new cabinet, led by former prosecutor Pedro Angulo.

- Dec 11: Protests turn deadly - Two people are killed in Andahuaylas in the south as demonstrators attempt to storm the city's airport.

- Dec 12: Seven dead in two days - Boluarte announces a state of emergency in flashpoint areas.

Hundreds of protesters temporarily block the airport runway in Peru's second-biggest city, Arequipa.

The leftist governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico back Castillo.

Boluarte's home region of Apurimac is the epicentre of the protests over her political takeover.

Days later, Defence Minister Alberto Otarola announces a new 30-day state of emergency.

- Dec 15: Castillo stays in jail - Castillo's pre-trial detention is prolonged for 18 months.

- Dec 16: Machu Picchu tourists hit - The pro-Castillo protests spread to the town of Cusco, the gateway to Peru's top attraction, the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. Around 5,000 tourists are stranded as rail services are suspended, roads blocked and the international airport is closed.

- Dec 21: Elections for 2024 - As the death toll rises to 21, Congress votes to bring forward the general election from 2026 to April 2024.

- Jan 9, 2023: Airport bloodshed - Seventeen people are killed in clashes with security forces triggered when demonstrators try to storm an airport in the southeastern city of Juliaca. The deaths bring the toll in the unrest to 39.