International
Peru braces for new rally in Lima despite state of emergency
January 17 | By AFP |
Lima was bracing for a new rally against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Monday as thousands of demonstrators began mobilizing in the capital following weeks of deadly unrest.
Protesters from all over the country began heading to Lima over the weekend in a bid to maintain the pressure on authorities, even as a state of emergency war declared in a bid to maintain order.
At least 42 people have died in five weeks of clashes between protesters and security forces, according to Peru’s human rights ombudsman.
Supporters of ousted president Pedro Castillo — who was arrested and charged with rebellion amongst other offenses after trying last month to dissolve parliament and rule by decree — have set up burning roadblocks, attempted to storm airports and staged mass rallies.
They are demanding Boluarte’s resignation, the closure of Congress and fresh elections.
“We’re going to be in the capital to make our protest voice heard,” Jimmy Mamani, an Aymara indigenous leader from Puno region, told AFP.
Mamani, the mayor of a small village near the border with Bolivia, said peasants from all over Peru had arranged to meet up in Lima for a “peaceful” demonstration.
Protesters are set to defy a state of emergency in the capital.
“It’s not right that the executive cannot listen to our demands, they turn a deaf ear,” added Mamani, who ruled out dialogue with authorities.
At least 3,000 protesters from Andahuaylas in southeastern Peru were heading for Lima on Monday in a caravan of trucks and buses.
In Cusco province, dozens of peasants were organizing themselves to leave for the capital.
The government extended by 30 days a state of emergency from midnight Saturday for Lima, Cusco, Callao and Puno, authorizing the military to back up police actions to restore public order.
The order also suspended constitutional rights such as freedom of movement and assembly, according to a decree published in the official gazette.
In protest epicenter Puno, the government declared a new night-time curfew for 10 days, from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am.
Almost 100 stretches of road remained blockaded Sunday in 10 of Peru’s 25 regions — a record, according to a senior land transport official.
Castillo, a former rural school teacher and union leader, faced vehement opposition from Congress during his 18 months in office and is the subject of numerous criminal investigations into allegations of widespread graft.
His December 7 ouster sparked immediate nationwide protests, mainly among the rural poor.
– ‘Terrible cruelties’ –
In the run-up to Monday’s demonstrations, attitudes among both protesters and government officials appeared to harden.
“We ask that Dina Boluarte resign as president and that Congress be shut down. We don’t want any more deaths,” Jasmin Reinoso, a 25-year-old nurse from Ayacucho, told AFP.
Prime Minister Alberto Otarola called for protesters to “radically change” their tactics and opt for dialogue.
“There is a small group organized and paid for by drug trafficking and illegal mining that wants to take power by force,” Otarola said on local television.
Defense Minister Jorge Chavez said the government would do everything in its power “to avoid a violent situation” in Lima.
But he also pleaded with protesters to demonstrate “peacefully without generating violence.”
An Ipsos poll published Sunday said Boluarte had a 71 percent disapproval rating.
The unrest has been largely concentrated in the southern Andes, where Quechua and Aymara communities live.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has said that in order to end the crisis, these groups need to be better integrated into Peruvian society.
– Radical groups? –
Peru has been politically unstable for years, with 60-year-old Boluarte the country’s sixth president in five years.
Castillo has been remanded in custody for 18 months, charged with rebellion and other crimes.
Authorities insist radical groups are behind the protests, including remnants of the Shining Path communist guerrilla group.
As proof, they have presented the capture this week of a former member of that organization, Rocio Leandro, whom the police accuse of having financed some of the unrest.
International
Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal
Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.
The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).
“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”
International
Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders
President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.
Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.
A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”
According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.
International
Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join
Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.
Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.
“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.
“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.
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