Attempted dissolution of Congress During the presidencies of
Ollanta Humala,
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and
Martín Vizcarra, the right-wing Congress led by
Keiko Fujimori obstructed many of the actions performed by the presidents. In the
2021 Peruvian general election,
Pedro Castillo was elected president of Peru, receiving much of his support from rural areas that believed that the elites in Lima led through corruption. According to historian José Ragas of the
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, although Castillo was accused of being linked to communist terrorism, "in places where terrorism caused the most bloodshed, Castillo won by a lot." In contrast, Fujimori, who was Castillo's contender during the presidential election, received support from
Lima's elite, with evangelical Christians, businesses, media organizations, and the armed forces supporting her. During Castillo's presidency, Congress was dominated by right-wing parties opposed to him, with legislators attempting to impeach multiple times using political avenues. Due to broadly interpreted
impeachment wording in the
Constitution of Peru (1993), Congress can impeach the president on the vague grounds of "moral incapacity", effectively making the legislature more powerful than the executive branch. On 7 December 2022, Congress was expected to file a
motion of censure against Castillo, accusing him of "permanent moral incapacity". Before the legislative body could gather to file its motion, Castillo announced the dissolution of Congress and enacted an immediate
curfew. Moments after Castillo's speech, multiple ministers resigned from his government, including Prime Minister
Betssy Chávez. The
Constitutional Court released a statement: "No one owes obedience to a usurping government and Mr. Pedro Castillo has made an ineffective coup d'état. The Armed Forces are empowered to restore the constitutional order." The
Armed Forces also issued a statement rejecting Castillo's actions and calling for the maintenance of stability in Peru. Rejecting Castillo's actions to dissolve the legislative body, Congress gathered and voted to remove Castillo from office due to "moral incapacity" with 101 votes in favor, 6 against and 10 abstentions. It was announced that First Vice President
Dina Boluarte, who rejected Castillo's actions, would take her
oath of office for the presidency at 3:00 pm
PET.
Protests For Castillo's supporters, it was the Congress that carried out a coup against the president. In addition, they considered Boluarte a "traitor", "dictator" and "usurper" after her subsequent assumption as the new president of the republic, based on the promise of the then vice president: "If the president is vacated I will go with the president". In this way, supporters of the former president encouraged the prompt release of Castillo and an advance of elections. The Boluarte government first responded with police attempting to quell the protests, though later resulted with declaring a national
state of emergency and using the military to repress demonstrations.
Impunity of authorities The Peruvian government's use of force has been criticized by a number of human rights groups who argue police and troops often use violence with
impunity.
Human Rights Watch stated at the time that "[e]xcessive use of force by state agents is a persistent problem in Peru. Rules for use of force by security forces do not comply with international standards", with the human rights group reporting that Congress has removed
proportionality guidelines regarding
use of force, making it easier for authorities to use excessive force with impunity. On 15 December 2022, demonstrators in
Ayacucho approached the
Coronel FAP Alfredo Mendívil Duarte Airport, with the
Peruvian Armed Forces closing the airport in response, with clashes occurring shortly after. Human rights groups reported that members of the
Peruvian Army were seen shooting at civilians protesting in an event described as the
Ayacucho massacre, which left 10 civilians dead and 61 injured. Casualties were sent for treatment at the Huamanga Network and in the Ayacucho Regional Hospital, The event was not prominently covered by the
media in Peru. Academics and
human rights organizations condemned the excessive use of force by Peruvian authorities, while the Minister of Culture and Minister of Education resigned from the newly formed government of
Dina Boluarte in response.
Puno general strike In Puno, multiple roads in the region were barricaded by protesters seeking to achieve a
general strike in Peru after the end of the holiday season, with Juliaca being the epicenter of the protests beginning on 4 January. Two days prior to the massacre, protesters attempted to enter
Inca Manco Cápac International Airport on 7 January, though they were dispersed by police using
tear gas. Authorities also shot a photojournalist of
EFE in the leg, allegedly threatening the reporter saying "I'll blow off your head". By 8 January, Juliaca was totally immobilized, with all routes to the city being controlled by protesters. Following the demonstrations of the previous day,
Aymara and
Quechua groups in surrounding regions announced that they would march to Juliaca to protest against oppression by authorities. In response to the call for larger protests and to avoid protester roadblocks, the
Peruvian Air Force transported ammunition, tear gas and other equipment to respond to protests in the area, with a
Lockheed C-130 Hercules arriving at Inca Manco Cápac International Airport at 11:00 am. == Events ==