Peru has been gripped by protests and political intrigue since the ouster of its former president, Pedro Castillo, earlier this month.
The South American country’s security forces have imposed a state of emergency for 30 days, banning demonstrations, curtailing freedom of movement and allowing police to search homes without a warrant.
Protests and highway blockades have continued, however. At least 17 people have been killed in the protests so far, according to Peruvian authorities.
Castillo’s opponents say he was impeached in a constitutional fashion after overstepping his authority by trying to dissolve the country’s congress ahead of an impeachment attempt by lawmakers.
Supporters of the former union leader say he was unjustly removed and imprisoned by the country’s political establishment, arguing he should be allowed to continue governing or new elections should be held.
Security forces detain a supporter of ousted Peruvian president Pedro Castillo, on the Pan-American North Highway in Chao, Peru, on Thursday. Peru’s new government has declared a 30-day national emergency amid violent protests following Castillo’s ouster, suspending the rights of ‘personal security and freedom’ across the Andean nation. (Hugo Curotto/The Associated Press)
The Andean nation is the world’s second-largest exporter of copper but is rife with structural inequalities and poverty.
CBC News breaks down Peru’s political crisis, how the country came to this point and what might happen next.
Who is in charge now?
Dina Boluarte, who served as Castillo’s vice-president, was sworn into office on Dec. 7, the same day Castillo was ousted.
She is the country’s first female president and was not a particularly high-profile politician before gaining power.
As the unrest continues and police exercise sweeping powers, Boluarte’s hold over the government appears strained.
More than 70 per cent of Peruvians disapprove of Boluarte’s ascension to the presidency, according to polling data cited by local newspaper La Republica. Forty-four per cent approved of Castillo’s attempts to shut down the congress, the same poll said.
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, centre front, and newly named cabinet members gather for a group photo after their swearing-in ceremony, at the government palace in Lima on Dec. 10. (Guadalupe Pardo/The Associated Press)
Two cabinet ministers, Education Minister Patricia Correa and Culture Minister Jair Perez, have resigned in the face of ongoing violence since Castillo’s ouster.
“State violence cannot be disproportionate and cause death,” Correa said via Twitter on Friday.
Who is former president Pedro Castillo?
Castillo was a political outsider who led a rural teachers’ union in one of Peru’s poorest regions before winning the presidency in a run-off election in 2021.
He campaigned on reducing inequality, improving social inclusion and fighting corruption. His message resonated with the rural poor and Indigenous communities who had been largely left behind by Peru’s mining-driven economic boom.
Castillo is shown at a news conference at the presidential palace in Lima, Peru’s capital, on Oct. 11. Today he sits in a jail cell and is under investigation for ‘rebellion and conspiracy.’ (Martin Mejia/The Associated Press)
Rivals painted Castillo as a Marxist radical; he was elected by a margin of fewer than 50,000 votes.
In office, many analysts considered the 53-year-old a largely ineffective leader. Fellow lawmakers attempted to impeach him three times before he tried to dissolve congress, and he spent much of his tenure fighting off challenges from other politicians rather than delivering on promised results.
Where is Castillo now?
Today, Castillo sits in a jail cell in pretrial detention while he is investigated for “rebellion and conspiracy.”
His supporters, who are protesting and blocking roads, consider that profoundly unfair.
“This should not have happened,” one pro-Castillo demonstrator told CBC’s The National. “He was kidnapped. Our pain is because of this injustice.”
What are other countries saying about Castillo’s ouster?
Some Latin American nations — particularly those with left-leaning governments, including Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia — have lined up in Castillo’s favour.
Chile, which is governed by a left-leaning leader, and Brazil’s incoming president have said Castillo was deposed through legitimate constitutional means.
Canada, the European Union and the United States have backed the new government and criticized Castillo.
The United Nations and the Organization of American States have both accepted the transition as legitimate and have recognized the new government, CBC’s Evan Dyer reported.
The UN, however, has expressed “deep concern” over reports of deaths during protests and the detention of minors involved in demonstrations.
Police arrive to clear debris from a highway, placed by supporters of Castillo protesting his detention, in Arequipa, Peru, on Thursday. (Fredy Salcedo/The Associated Press)
How is the unrest impacting tourism?
With such historic sites as Machu Picchu and the colonial city of Cusco, as well as a budding food scene, Peru has become a popular tourist destination.
Global Affairs Canada recommends travellers “exercise a high degree of caution due to crime, social conflicts and strikes.”
It has also advised against non-essential travel to four regions — Arequipa; Cusco, including the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu; Ica; and Puno — due to “violent demonstrations related to the political situation.”
Some of those areas are popular tourist attractions. More than 3,900 Canadians were in the country as of Friday, and many have been unable to leave.
“We feel the safest when we are at the hotel and we don’t go very far,” Canadian tourist Jennifer Korver told The National from Arequipa, a hotbed of unrest in the country’s south.
Police officers stand guard in the Plaza de Armas, a popular tourist attraction in downtown Cusco, Peru, in 2020. (Martin Mejia/The Associated Press)
What happens next?
For now, the unrest seems likely to continue. Boluarte has become Peru’s sixth president in as many years. Supporters of Castillo had been calling for his reinstatement or at least new elections.
After initially suggesting she should be able to finish Castillo’s remaining 3.5-year term, Boluarte has recently suggested holding new elections in December 2023. That may not excite critics.
Some analysts say Peru’s broader political unrest requires deeper solutions. Some have suggested a new constitution; others say the country needs better structured political parties to allow governments to last longer and actually get things done.
“It’s the latest cycle of this long cycle of instability,” Patrick Clark, a professor at Toronto’s York University who studies the country, told The National of recent unrest. “I think these protests are out of this exasperation people have.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
