Peru president paves way for early elections after two killed in latest protests
GuardianNov 25, 2022
The Facts
Peru's new president, Dina Boluarte, announced on Monday that she plans to submit a bill to bring forward the general elections to April 2024 amid widespread protests that have killed at least two.
Demonstrations supporting former Pres. Pedro Castillo were reported on Sunday across the country's interior, with a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old reportedly killed during clashes with police in the southern city of Andahuaylas, in the Apurimac region.
The Spin
Left narrative
Castillo's ousting was part of a classist, racist plot concocted by far-right elites to break the popular will; Boluarte should not have agreed to a truce with these undemocratic coup plotters. Peru needs to return the power to its people, by advancing general elections and convening a Constituent Assembly.
Right narrative
Castillo and his supporters have been following other Latin American autocrats' coup playbook, demanding Congress to be shut down and trying to subvert Constitutional order. His impeachment and arrest came as an institutional warning that the Peruvian people will not accept attempts to break the rule of law.
