Andahuales, Peru - In Andahuaylas, a remote rural Andean community where the poor have struggled for years and where voter support helped elect now-ousted President Pedro Castillo, a farmer like himself, against his government The fury of the Peruvians is nowhere more evident.
Despite the death of four people on Monday, including two young protesters over the weekend, including 17-year-old Beckham Romario Quispe Garafias, their anger was so high.
Raquel Quispe remembered her brother as a talented athlete who was tired of feeling invisible in the eyes of politicians as large crowds of people spilled into the streets. His namesakes are Brazilian football sensation Romario and English football legend David Beckham.
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She stood outside the hospital where his body was kept, clouds hanging over her, and explained the reason she and others have protested since Castillo was ousted last week: an exclusionary democracy. Sometimes tears used to come in his voice.
Quispe, a teacher of early childhood education, said, "For those who are in Congress, the only opinion that is valid is that of Peruvians who have money, rich people.
They act as they please. They believe that the votes of the provinces are invalid and useless. However, the vote of the Lima population is taken into account. This is unfair to the whole of Peru.
On Monday, about 3,000 people gathered in the streets of Andahuallas to express their outrage, express their grief and pay their respects to the white coffins of the youths.
Rocks were strewn across streets still unmarked by the fire throughout the neighborhood. Black smoke was still visible from a nearby building and the army airstrip was closed.
Protesters in rural areas, including Andahuales, have demanded President Dina Boluaarte step down and call for general elections to replace her and all Congress members.
They also want Castillo, who was arrested on Wednesday after being voted out of office by lawmakers for trying to dissolve Congress before the impeachment vote, to be released from custody.
Even though there have been protests in the country's capital, Lima, Castillo, a former teacher and political outsider from an impoverished region of the Andes mountains, had strong support in rural areas.
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On Monday, protesters occupied the runway of an international airport in southern Peru and blocked access to it for several hours.
During a congressional session dedicated to civil unrest, Defense Minister Alberto Otarola informed lawmakers that protests in Arequipa, where the airport is located, resulted in the death of one protester. Another protester was killed in the state, according to lawmakers, including Andahuaylas.
Even though Boluaarte had conceded to the protesters' demands hours earlier and said she would send a proposal to Congress to hold elections by April 2024, she insisted that she should serve for the remaining 3 1/2 years of her predecessor's term. The President should remain in office. ,
In addition, Boluaarte, in his address to the nation, declared a state of emergency outside Lima, where the protests have been particularly violent.
Announcing that she would suggest early elections to Congress, Boluaarte said, "At this difficult time as President of the Republic, it is my duty to interpret the aspirations, interests and concerns of the vast majority of Peruvians."
Boluaarte, 60, was quickly sworn in as Castillo's replacement on Wednesday, hours after the nation was stunned by his decision to dissolve Congress, dismissing him for "permanent moral turpitude." Castillo was taken into custody on suspicion of insurrection.
On Monday, members of Boluarte's cabinet testified before Congress about the demonstrations. Right-wing lawmaker Jorge Montoya told Castillo's supporters that "the chapter is closed" and demanded that appropriate steps be taken to end the unrest.
According to Montoya, these actions should be severely punished as they are acts of terrorism rather than protest. "You can't defend an extreme position," the saying goes.
In the last six years, Peru has had six different presidents. It went through three a week in 2020.
As the Andes region and its thousands of small farms struggle to survive the worst drought in fifty years, the latest presidential crisis is brewing. The nation currently has its fifth wave of COVID-19 cases.
The populist outsider who had been expected by Castillo's supporters faced few issues with their expectations. However, Castillo failed to complete any signature projects during his 17 months in office and dealt with the racism and discrimination faced by his poorer supporters.
In Andahuaylas, during the runoff election last year, about 80% of voters who cast ballots backed Castillo. One of his suggestions was to revise the nation's constitution, which was last drafted and approved in 1993 under the administration of disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori, whose daughter Keiko lost the presidency to Castillo.
Rosario Garfias was one of those protesting in front of the hospital holding the body of her 17-year-old son. She spoke in Quechua, one of Peru's Indigenous languages, expressing her sorrow over the loss of her son.
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"My mother is grumbling in her native tongue. Raquel Quispe, her daughter, said, "I know that many people don't understand her; even Congress doesn't understand it.
She claims that she is in great pain as a result of how they killed him, just like in a slaughterhouse. And my mother, like the rest of my family, calls for my brother's justice.