AT THE time of writing, the latest shocking reports from Peru show that over 70 protesters have been killed during the ongoing mass mobilisations for democracy in the country.

Thousands more have been injured, and the protest movements as a whole demonised and criminalised, not only by the coup regime but also by much of the ruling class that supports it, and inevitably their mouthpieces in the corporate media.

Yet the resistance movements continue to mobilise to an inspirational level, as witnessed by recent national strikes calling for the illegitimate President Dina Boluarte to resign, and in shows of inspiring bravery protests continue.

As the CGTP trade union body’s deputy secretary Gustavo Minaya said in the face of attempts to repress their recent protest, strikes and resistance will be “carried out forcefully” whatever obstacles are put in their way.

The core demands of the continuing and massive protests include in addition to the president’s resignation include elections as soon as possible (the coup government has said there will not be any until 2024,) the freeing of jailed former president Pedro Castillo and a constituent assembly that will make Peru a democracy that can start to address the deep inequalities and difficulties facing the country.

And, as the repression and violence against protesters continue, they are of course demanding justice for all those protesters killed, injured or criminalised simply for supporting democracy. One growing specific demand in this area is that families are demanding reparations for protester deaths.

Voices are also growing in Peru and internationally to recognise the deep racism many people in the country face and to back their struggles for liberation and equality.

International support for the protesters in Peru is growing too, and recently, the delegation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which went to Peru to evaluate the situation of human rights violations following a massacre in Puno, highlighted that these protests are authentic as opposed to the absurd claims of the Boluarte regime that they are organised by “terrorists” and sponsored by international actors.

As Jeremy Corbyn said at a recent solidarity event hosted by Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America and watched online by tens of thousands across the globe, what is happening in Peru is “an absolute disgrace. An elected president has been removed. The ambassador of Mexico has been removed because he tried to visit the president in prison. Protesters are being brutally attacked by the police and other forces.”

Furthermore, if the coup regime is able to defeat the movements in Peru this could also re-embolden anti-democratic right-wing forces in Latin America, whose continuing presence and danger had been shown in numerous countries of late.

The appalling anti-democratic violence in Brazil from Jair Bolsonaro supporters was widely and rightly condemned globally. And a lot of people involved with Latin America solidarity work are gravely concerned about the scenes we’re seeing from Santa Cruz in Bolivia and the attempts to destabilise the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) government there.

Supporting this Peruvian struggle is also therefore about supporting those other struggles for social progress and self-determination in the region.

Yet, at a time when we have recently seen the election of numerous governments in Latin America that have pledged to break from US domination of the region — including Lula in Brazil — and the defeat of coup regimes by mass movements in Honduras and Bolivia, those protesting in Peru believe they can win. 

And coup-President Boluarte’s disapproval rating is at 71 per cent and her unpopularity is rising.

We must do all we can to amplify their voices internationally — for justice and democracy.

Watch the recent emergency event in solidarity with Peru with Jeremy Corbyn at bit.ly/PeruSolidarity. Sign the solidarity statement at bit.ly/solidaritywperu.

STATEMENT 

Peru: Solidarity with the Struggle for Democracy — Add Your Name!

We, the undersigned, stand with the protests for democracy in Peru — whose numbers include indigenous communities, trade unions, women’s groups, environmental activists and many others — and condemn the vicious repression of protesters by the current regime led by Dina Boluarte. 

Half a hundred Peruvians from rural areas have been killed in less than 40 days since the new regime took power. State violence must stop and an end must be put to more deaths and injuries taking place.
 
The protesters are calling for new elections as soon as possible, the freeing of imprisoned former president Castillo, who was elected as recently as 2021, and the convening of a constituent assembly to make Peru a real democracy.

We join growing international voices in supporting the call for justice for all protesters killed, injured or criminalised simply for supporting democracy.