Thousands of protesters march through the streets of Lima to demand the resignation of left-wing President Pedro Castillo, who is under six unprecedented investigations into alleged corruption, in Lima, Peru on November 5. year 2022.
Klebher Vasquez / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Thousands of people took to the streets across Peru on Saturday to demand the resignation of embroiled President Pedro Castillo, a leftist whose government is under investigation for corruption.
Carrying the vertical striped red-white-red flag of the Andean nation and signs with anti-government slogans, protesters marched toward the opposition-dominated Congress in the capital, Lima.
Castillo called those who opposed his government “reactionaries” and “enemies of the people”.
Police with helmets and plastic shields launched multiple canisters of tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd. There were no reports of casualties.
Castillo, who took office last July, has survived two impeachments. Opposition lawmakers are seeking a new trial against the president even though Congress recognizes it will not gather enough votes.
Lucas Ghersi, a conservative lawyer who was one of the organizers of the march called Peru Reacts, said: “We saw a government implicated in corruption and Congress did not respond.
In October, Peru’s attorney general filed a constitutional complaint against Castillo with Congress that the right-wing opposition hoped would end his removal from office.
Discontent is growing in Peru. Maria del Pilar Blancas said: “I come for my children, for my grandchildren, for this government that is going to hell.
“They want us to be another Venezuela,” she said, referring to the neighboring South American country that has fallen into economic freedom.
Similar protests have been held in other cities around the country, including Arequipa, Chiclayo, Cusco and Trujillo, according to reports and images obtained by local television channel Canal N.
