“The intensification of the struggle in defence of Peruvian democracy has continued.”
Logan Williams
By Logan Williams, Labour Outlook
The 7th December 2023 marked one year since the right-wing coup that ousted the democratically elected Pedro Castillo Terrones from his role as the President of Peru, in favour of his vice-president, Dina Boluarte, who has been supported by the right-wing Fujimorista parliamentary groupings. Following this coup we have seen the Government undertake some of the bloodiest, most repressive measures imaginable in an attempt to cull the largely indigenous and progressive movement that elected Castillo and the Peru Libre party to government. In the year that has followed we have seen around 100 activists killed by state forces, with several thousand activists either severely injured, imprisoned, and tortured, with many more disappearing.
Despite these repressive measures, we have seen a growing movement organised in both the indigenous and labour movements in support of the formation of a constituent assembly and the release of Castillo from prison. This movement has consisted of the a nation-wide general strike led by the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers (CGTP) for an extended period of time, numerous occasions of protesters blocking national highways at 45 different points especially within the indigenous Aymara region of Puno to hinder the ability of the coup government to move vital supplies across Peru and, almost daily marches through the streets of Lima in the face of savage repression from state forces.
This fightback is still continuing a year into the coup with an agricultural strike being launched on the 3rd December in Barrio Chino, in the Ica province, which has seen agricultural workers and others begin what appears to be a week-long intensification of the struggle against the coup government surrounding the anniversary of the Coup. These agricultural workers have been joined by activists forming roadblocks on the PanAmericana Sur which has led to confrontations with armed forces which has led to at least one protestor’s death.
The intensification of the struggle in defence of Peruvian democracy has continued following the events in Ica, with official days of struggle being declared for December 7th, 8th, and 9th both in Lima and throughout the 25 regions of the country. These will undoubtedly continue the rich tapestry of varying actions ranging from strike days to marches and rallies in defence of Castillo. However, this struggle is not only limited to Peru with members of the Peruvian international diaspora planning to hold rallies outside embassies and consulates, as well as webinars and public forums to educate the international community on events within Peru following Boluarte’s seizure of power.
The struggle in defence of Peruvian democracy and indigenous rights is not merely limited to the political and industrial confrontations on the streets of Peru, it can also be seen in legal battles across Peru. This can be seen by the court hearings on the 4th of December on the multiple habeas corpus lawsuits filed on behalf of Pedro Castillo, who is still in pre-trial detention, in the Constitutional Tribunal (TC). Pedro Castillo would announce through his lawyers that “They have arrested me and violated my rights. This was ordered by the Prosecutor of the Nation, who today is revealed as the leader of a criminal organization, in coordination with senior officials of the Peruvian National Police (PNP) and some congressmen. All this in order to overthrow my government because I do not belong to this elite and they do not agree with my origins”.
Castillo’s battle to even receive the most basic of his democratic rights is starkly juxtaposed by the decision of the Peruvian government to release the former President Fujimori on “humanitarian” grounds. Alberto Fujimori had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the victims of the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres in Lima. The decision to release Fujimori was met with a statement from the Peruvian human rights campaign, the IACHR, who stated “We demand a firm commitment to the principles of justice and human rights… and we call for institutional responsibility to avoid actions that put the integrity of justice and the fight against impunity at risk”. The release of Fujimori whilst Castillo is still imprisoned has seemingly restrengthened the resolve of the protest wave and, as previously mentioned, has seen an intensification of the protest wave once again.
The Peruvian struggle is not occurring within isolation, we have recently seen the hard right across Latin America seek to reclaim power, including the ultimately successful forces of Milei in Argentina. Therefore, through supporting the Peruvian peoples’ struggle for democracy and human rights, we are also supporting those other struggles for social progress and self-determination in the region.
It is imperative that we as socialists and labour movement activists amplify the voices from the frontline of the struggle in Peru internationally to demand justice and democracy.
- Logan Williams is a Labour Outlook contributor, an NEU activist and an organiser for Arise Festival. You can follow him on twitter here.
- You can follow Arise Festival on Facebook and twitter, and see what events they have coming up here; as well as listen to the Arise Festival podcast on Spotify.
- Follow Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America on Facebook and on Twitter.
