Photo by Alvaro Palacios on Unsplash.
Protests in Peru have gone on for weeks as many protestors call for the current President, Dina Boluarte’s resignation and fresh elections to be held. President Boluarte was recently sworn in as president 6 weeks ago, on 7 December. She became the first female president to lead Peru, and the sixth president of Peru in 5 years. Evidently, great political instability had rocked Peru, with Boluarte’s predecessor, Pedro Castillo being impeached, due to charges of rebellion and conspiracy. However, Boluarte’s time has certainly been a rocky one too, with many of the protestors claiming that the government has failed to take care of indigenous individuals in Peru. That has led to weeks long protests which have had severe economic and social impacts to the country. This article seeks to discuss the reasons and impacts of these protests in Peru.
Why are these protests occurring? For context, the majority of these anti-government protesters originate from rural parts of Peru, with many part of indigenous groups. Boluarte’s predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was regarded as the first real rural president, and garnered the support of many of those living in the rural areas. Historically, those hailing from these rural areas have argued that there is a double system in Peru, with the indigenous groups not benefitting as much from Peru’s economic miracle. They have argued that there is a lack of funding in education, no good healthcare and no public housing for them. Many of them believe Boluarte does not represent them well. Many demonstrators believe the dismissal of Pedro Castillo was unfair, and the result of an ineffective democratic system that had been established years ago. Due to Peru’s previous authoritarian regime, the constitution gave the congress great power to limit the powers of the president, and large parties were dismantled. That led to Castillo having a lack of support, partly resulting in his impeachment. Castillo’s impeachment angered these protesters who are mostly supporters of Castillo. Simultaneously, the powers of the congress have annoyed many Peruvians, since it has a very high disapproval rating among many Peruvians, standing at 88%. As such, the dissatisfaction the protestors have towards the dismissal of Castillo fueled these protests.
These protests have had severe impacts. In the economic dimension, many of these protestors skipped work to participate in demonstrations. That leads to less income for families, and companies suffer as production and sales will take a hit. With less income, it results in less spending, lower income tax revenues for the government and it would lead to reduced government resources. Simultaneously, expectations for the country’s economy will further plummet, although confidence in the economy has already been low. More importantly, the impact on tourism will be extensive. Damages done by demonstrators to train tracks have led to rail services to Machu Picchu being shut down, affecting tourists who wanted to go to the site. Not long after, the authorities decided to close Machu Picchu, leading to many tourists being stranded at the foot of the site, with the tourists having to walk six-hours to the nearest village, a major inconvenience. With this incident, it will certainly discourage tourists from coming to Peru. Next, the violence and damages to many sites in Peru that were caused by the protestors is another factor that can deter tourism. In response to that, authorities have clamped down on protestors and conducted violent acts on them. Such violence and disruptions across the city would certainly reduce visitors, affect tourism and Peru’s economy. Such economic impact would be extensive, considering how tourism contributes to 3 to 4% of Peru’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Now, we will explore the social impacts. While the protesters have damaged sites in Peru, and had to be restrained by authorities, the handling of these protesters by the authorities have greatly violated human rights. The arrest and crackdown on these protestors have been violent and brutal, with the military reported to be using smoke bombs and live ammunition. However, that is partly due to the use of homemade explosives and other weapons by the protestors. Around 50 people have been killed by the authorities due to these protests. Simultaneously, the government declared a state of emergency in several regions like Lima, Cusco and Puno. With a state of emergency, it has limited civil rights. Rights to freedom of movement have been limited, and the army has been given the authority to intervene to maintain order. The authorities’ actions have come into question recently, with the recent raid at San Marcos University raising much controversy. Guns were pointed at the students, with many forced to kneel and searched by the police. Certainly, the social impact on protestors and Peruvians is quite severe, as they experienced losses in civil rights, and suffered violence across the streets.
In conclusion, Peru’s protests sparked by disapproval towards the dismissal of ex-President Castillo have caused much harm to Peru, with dire economic impacts from the damages made by the protesters. The handling of these protesters by the authorities have been abusive as well, with actions violating civil rights of peruvians.
References
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/20/we-feel-betrayed-peruvians-on-anti-government-protests
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