Peru Protesters Gather in Lima in Bid to Topple Boluarte Government

(Bloomberg) -- Peruvian police in riot gear fired tear gas near congress Thursday as protesters massed in downtown Lima to try to topple the fragile government of President Dina Boluarte.

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As the nation’s political crisis enters its seventh week, demonstrators from rural areas traveled hundreds of miles in trucks and buses for what some of them called the “takeover of Lima.”

Clashes between crowds and security forces also continued outside the capital, while more than 100 highway blockades remain in place, according to official figures.

The Andean nation has been roiled by its worst political violence in decades since Boluarte took office on Dec. 7, after her predecessor President Pedro Castillo was impeached. Lima had been relatively unscathed, but protest leaders are now taking their demonstrations to the capital in the hope that they will have more impact there than in impoverished rural areas.

In a national address on Thursday night, Boluarte said that her government remains “firm”, despite the protests. She called for talks, but also said that acts of violence committed during the protests will be punished.

Much of the unrest has been concentrated in the south where Castillo had much of his support, and which is also the heartland of the nation’s mining industry, as well as its tourism sector.

Growing Rage

The demonstrators have grown increasingly enraged as the bloodshed increases. Peru’s Public Ombudsman’s Office has confirmed more than 50 deaths related to the unrest.

Police deployed about 11,800 officers in the capital to try to maintain order. Authorities in Arequipa and Cusco closed airports again in response to the unrest.

Read more: Peru Extends Steepest-Ever Interest Rate Rises Amid Turmoil

Protesters are calling for Boluarte and her government to quit, and for fresh elections. Some also want to rewrite Peru’s market-friendly constitution and for Castillo to be released from detention, where he has been kept amid a criminal investigation due to his attempt to shut congress.

Boluarte’s caretaker administration has faced widespread calls to quit from the day it took office, since it has low approval ratings, took office without a clear mandate from voters and was sworn in by a deeply unpopular congress.

“If police repress the demonstration harshly there’s a risk that people could become much more radical, which would add to the pressure on Boluarte to resign,” Peruvian political analyst Andrea Moncada said in a phone interview.

What Bloomberg Economics Says

“Political instability is showing no signs of abating in Peru, and the economic cost is rising. Our analysis puts the total to date at around 2% of GDP. A large march in Lima planned for Thursday risks significantly escalating the problem.”

— Felipe Hernandez, Latin America economist

— Click here for the full report

The protests are also likely to continue to undermine the country’s economic performance. The disruption caused by the protests will cause “significant headwinds” to economic activity, Goldman Sachs economists wrote in a note Tuesday.

(Updates to add comments from president’s national address in 5th paragraph.)

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