Peruvian Independence Day Marked by Protests Against Boluarte

On July 28, Peruvians celebrate the day of their independence from the Spanish empire. Unlike other occasions, however, this historical landmark went into the background due to the endless protests against President Dina Boluarte.

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During her speech before the Congress that appointed her as president, Boluarte tried to minimize the consequences of the brutal police repression exercised against citizens who started massive protests after the removal of President Pedro Castillo in Dec. 6, 2022.

For her, "there were no winners or losers" during the demonstrations in which the police and the army left at least 77 dead until March 31.

"Democracy allows the right to peaceful protest, but democracy also allows and calls for dialogue," Boluarte immediately said and announced a "national agreement that would incorporate all sectors to discuss the social agenda and pending political reforms."

The tweet reads, "Now in the University Park. Hundreds of police prevent the progress of the march that seeks to reach Congress to protest against Dina Boluarte's murderous administration. Peru under dictatorship."

Meanwhile, outside Congress and in the streets of Lima, thousands of Peruvians were peacefully demanding the resignation of Boluarte, the closure of Congress, the calling of a Constituent Assembly, and the release of former president Castillo.

Similar to other occasions, the Boluarte regime's security forces began the day preventing the Indigenous citizens from reaching the capital city and obstructing their passage to Congress. Later, in the University Park, the police attacked the students.

"Armored tanks and hundreds of police close the streets adjacent to Congress," journalist Jaime Herrera reported through a video in which the voices of citizens demanding the reinstatement of Castillo and respect for the will of the people.

The video shows protests in the downtown Lima during Boluarte's Message to the Nation.

As usual, the launch of tear gas was the prelude to the exercise of greater police brutality. Wayka and other alternative local media began to report injured people, including Juan Zapata, a reporter who was shot in the leg with pellets.

As police repression continued to intensify, President Boluarte talked about her achievements and apologized for those injured and killed in past protests. This symbolic repentance, however, did not convince the Peruvians.

"While the people continue to mobilize, Boluarte asks for forgiveness through a speech that sounds empty and without acknowledging responsibility. She does not admit that most of the victims were extrajudicially executed. She speaks of a 'Reconciliation Pact', which will be impossible without justice ," Mirtha Vasquez, a lawyer and human rights defender tweeted.

"In the dictatorship, while they commune the body of Christ, they order to repress and murder the people. Dina Boluarte has no shame," tweeted Abner Trujillo, a political science professor at the National University of San Marcos.