Violence Between Police and Protesters Escalate In Peru As Calls For President’s Resignation Grows

Thousands of people in Peru were out on the streets Saturday to call for the resignation of President Pedro Castillo. Accusations of corruption and fears of a potential freefalling economy push citizens to battle it out on the streets with police tasked to keep the peace.

Citizens have gone to the city of Lima with the message of pushing President Castillo out of his office. A staunch leftist with a Congress that is controlled by the opposition, Castillo has found himself battling at least two impeachment attempts since taking the position in July 2021, according to Reuters.

Protesters came to the city of Lima armed with anti-government slogans and the country’s flag, only to be met by riot police who launched tear gas canisters to the crowd in an attempt to disperse them. No casualties have been reported as of writing this, VOA News reported.

“I come for my children, for my grandchildren, because this government is becoming hell,” protester Maria del Pilar Blancas said. “They want us to become one more Venezuela.”

“We see a government involved in corruption and Congress doesn't react,” Lucas Ghersi, a lawyer and one of the organizers of the protests, said.

Castillo has faced increasing discontent from the population due to controversies of alleged corruption, which he has denied publicly. Many opposition lawmakers are planning on pushing a third impeachment attempt through Congress despite not having the votes to fully remove him.

The attorney general of Peru also filed a separate constitutional complaint in Congress against Castillo, which many in the opposition hopes will result in the removal of Castillo from office.

“Today, they are trying to break us with disinformation, false accusations and unimaginable slander so that we give up our will for change, which the country needs, and accept the power of those who do not want the humble. They do not want to see the poor, the citizens who face tremendous inequalities in Peru,” Castillo said.