THE move by appointed president Dina Boluarte to hold early elections in Peru has failed to stop the protests against the “coup” that removed Pedro Castillo from office.

The protesters are insisting that they do not just want presidential elections: they want to see a vote for all members of a congress that has locked up the leftwinger the people elected last year.

Hours after Ms Boluarte’s announcement on Monday, protesters in Arequipa swarmed the international airport there. State media reported about 100 police officers were deployed to remove the demonstrators.

Ms Boluarte is proposing general elections for April 2024, a reversal of her earlier assertion that she should remain president for the remaining three-and-a-half years of her predecessor’s term.

The protests have been particularly heated in rural areas, strongholds for Mr Castillo, a former schoolteacher and political newcomer from a poor Andean mountain district. 

A 15-year-old boy died of an injury suffered during a protest in the remote Andes community of Andahuaylas. 

The death of a second protester, 17-year-old Beckham Romario Quispe Garfias, was confirmed by his family on Monday. 

Protesters are also demanding the release from custody of Mr Castillo, who remains in detention after he tried to dissolve congress to avoid his impeachment. The ousted president is seeking asylum in Mexico.