By Marco Aquino
LIMA (Reuters) – Police in Peru’s capital guarded key government buildings and highways in and out of the city on Wednesday as the government prepares for protests being organized by left-wing groups and unions calling for President Dina Boluarte’s resignation.
Police say 24,000 officers have been deployed throughout the country, with 8,000 set to guard the capital from a so-called “third takeover of Lima.” Protest organizers expect thousands of protesters to start massing in Lima on Wednesday.
The planned protests follow months of unrest in which 67 people were killed in violent clashes and blockades following the December ousting and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo, Boluarte’s predecessor.
“We will respect the right of people to protest, but if these turn violent we will make rational use of force to impose authority,” Lima police chief Roger Perez told local press.
Jorge Pizarro, a spokesman for the National Assembly of the Peoples, one of the protest organizers, said demonstrations will be forceful and peaceful.
“We will not seek a confrontation with the police,” Pizarro added.
The demands are largely the same as before, Pizarro added. Protesters are seeking Boluarte’s removal, the closure of the highly unpopular right-wing dominated Congress, early elections and a new constitution.
Boluarte, whose public approval has plummeted, is under a preliminary investigation by the Peruvian general attorney’s office for crimes of “genocide, aggravated homicide and serious injuries” over the deaths in the previous protests.
The government has called the protests a threat to democracy, and has extended a state of emergency in parts of the country.
Airports in Lima, Arequipa, Cusco and Puno – where some of the fiercest clashes occurred during the earlier protests – are restricting entry. In-person classes will be suspended at schools in several regions.
Peru, the world’s second-largest copper producer, could also face disruptions along its key mining corridor, where according to environmental NGOs, communities will support the protests.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Alexander Villegas and Will Dunham)
