At least one dead in clashes with Peruvian police

STORY: The unrest persisted on Thursday (January 19) with road blockades.

Local media reported that at least one 30-year-old woman died during the conflict. Another person was severely wounded. Fires were set to the justice department’s building and a police station in the city of Macusain, in the southern department of Puno.

The clashes mark the worst violence Peru has seen in over 20 years as many people in poorer rural regions vent anger at the Lima political elite over inequality and rising prices, testing the copper-rich Andean nation's democratic institutions.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, fast new elections, a clear out of Congress and a new Constitution to replace a market-friendly one dating back to strongman leader Alberto Fujimori in the 1990s.