FOLLOWING the coup d’etat against Peru’s democratically elected president Pedro Castillo, Dina Boluarte has become the willing instrument of that country’s oligarchy to preside over an illegal, brutally repressive de facto regime. 

These events of 2022 have strong similarities to the establishment of a dictatorship in Bolivia with Jeanine Anez in 2019.

And, as in Bolivia, the domestic ruling oligarchy, the infamous Organisation of American States secretary-general Luis Almagro, and the US embassy were heavily involved. 

Castillo has been arrested for “rebellion and conspiracy” to carry out a self-coup for having publicly announced the dissolution of Congress, a prerogative Peru’s presidents have in article 134 of the constitution in cases of obstructionism.

No government in the history of Peru suffered more obstructionism than Castillo’s. Congress’s right wing prevented him from governing.

Thus, on December 7, when Castillo ordered the dissolution of Congress, he committed no crime, constitutional or otherwise.  

Castillo was impeached by a parliamentary resolution that due to his alleged “permanent moral incapacity” declared his presidency “vacant”.

Peru is the only country in the world with such a constitutional provision. See the murky details leading to Castillo’s ouster in Golpe in Peru.

After the brutal dictatorship of president Alberto Fujimori (1990 to 2000), which included the suspension of the constitution, Peru has been run by a greedy and racist oligarchy entrenched in parliament and having total control over the state institutions (judiciary, armed forces, police, national prosecutor) as well the economy and the totality of the mainstream media.

Thus, neoliberalism has ruled supreme for over 30 years, making Peru one of the most unequal countries in the world. 

The governments of Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Cuba have all condemned the ouster of Castillo which they characterised as a coup d’etat, calling for the will of people who elected him to be respected.

With the exception of the United States, the European Union — via Josep Borrell, who congratulated Boluarte on being appointed president — and Juan Guaido, “interim president of Venezuela,” the Peruvian oligarchy finds itself severely isolated. 

Mexico in particular has adopted a very active policy towards Peru by offering asylum to president Castillo and arranging for his family to be flown to Mexico, where they were received as refugees.

Mexico’s ambassador to Lima visited Castillo to monitor his wellbeing. In an ominous decision, the de facto president Boluarte, probably under directives from the parliamentary right, on December 22 declared Mexico’s ambassador, Pablo Monroy, persona non grata and gave him 72 hours to leave Peru. 

The expulsion of Mexico’s ambassador signals that the parliamentary-military dictatorship intends to intensify the already brutal crackdown by the armed forces against persistent mass mobilisations by the people throughout Peru, with over 30 people already killed, mainly by the armed forces.

Boluarte declared a state of emergency for 30 days and curfew in 15 of the 26 provinces in Peru. The armed forces carry machine guns and rallies of protesters have been fired at with live ammunition from army helicopters. 

By December 19 it was reported that people have been killed in Ayacucho (9), Apurimac (6), Cusco (3), Junin (3), La Libertad (3) and Arequipa (1).

The number of people injured and seen in health institutions were as follows: Apurimac (56), Ayacucho (47), Lima (37), La Libertad (36), Arequipa (47), Junin (35), Cusco (16), Puno (15), Huancavelica (12) and Ucayali (4).

The number of people who had to be hospitalised were: Ayacucho (18), Junin (17), La Libertad (12), Ucayali (2), Apurimac (5), Lima (5) and Arequipa (2). The spontaneous mass movement has staged successful regional stoppages in these and other provinces. 

The real figures must be much higher. In a context of generalised social mobilisation demonstrators tend to avoid going to health centres where they could be arrested.

Reports also tell of at least 130 national motorway blockades. Boluarte faces a situation that may be rapidly evolving towards a national rebellion.

And the oligarchy, pulling the strings behind Boluarte, is scrambling to prop up her crisis-prone government. 

Two of her ministers (education and culture) resigned on December 17 over the killing of demonstrators that in a rare bout of informative objectivity was registered by the BBC as “Peru ministers quit as toll mounts from protesters.”

On December 19 Boluarte sacked the prime minister (Pedro Angulo, a right-wing politician of the PPK party founded by former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski) and swore in five new ministers.

The new prime minister, Alberto Otarola, had been minister of defence in charge of repression. Jorge Chavez becomes minister of defence, a post he held under a previous right-wing president. Victor Rojas, general of the national police, is interior minister; plus two more. This very much looks like a war cabinet. 

The question we have to ask ourselves is where is Peru’s oligarchy taking the de facto government?

After some to-ing and fro-ing between Boluarte and Congress, the latter approved a reconsideration of its original rejection of “early elections” in 2024.

This gives them over a year to crush the social rebellion. Social leaders have been denouncing what they call “terruqueo,” labelling protesters terrorists.

The hegemonic political force in Congress that is clearly calling the shots is Fuerza Popular, headed by Keiko Fujimori, daughter of dictator Alberto Fujimori.

The oligarchy may be feeling tempted to resort to Fujimori’s policies of crushing rebellion through mass murder as they did in 1980-2000 with the killing of 70,000 people.

The mass mobilisations — notwithstanding the brutal repression and the killings — are not abating and seem to be getting better organised, seeking to rally people around specific demands, which they have made crystal clear so much that even the BBC, somewhat accurately, publicised them: “The protesters are calling for the closure of Congress, the resignation of new president Dina Boluarte and early elections.”

The demands of the mass movement are for immediate elections, a referendum for a new constitution, freedom for Pedro Castillo and immediate cessation of repression.

It is incumbent upon the solidarity movement in Britain and internationally to support these demands: especially the cessation of repression and the holding of elections.

We should monitor initiatives in this direction undertaken by the progressive governments of Latin America to help bring an end the de facto parliamentary-military dictatorship presided over by puppet Dina Boluarte.