Latin America Advisor 2023-01-23 – Inter-American Dialogue

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

January 23, 2023

What Can Peru’s Government Do to Calm Unrest?

Protesters have taken to the streets in violent demonstrations since Congress ousted President Pedro Castillo in December. A protest last month in Lima is pictured. // File Photo: Mayimbú via Creative Commons.

Q

At least 60 people have been killed amid violent protests in Peru since early December, when the country’s Congress ousted President Pedro Castillo. In the city of Juliaca in southern Peru, 17 people were killed in clashes on Jan. 9 alone, making it the deadliest confrontation between civilians and police in the country in at least two decades. Human rights groups have accused security forces of indiscriminately using deadly force against civilians, and Peru’s top prosecutor has opened a probe into genocide allegations against President Dina Boluarte. What can the government do in order to calm the unrest? To what extent do the protests threaten Boluarte’s government? What is the economic fallout of the protests in Peru, including in the country’s mining industry, and how has the continued social unrest changed the outlook for investment in Peru this year?

A

Cynthia McClintock, professor of political science and international affairs at The George Washington University: “The current confrontations in Peru are the most intense since at least the 1970s and endanger not only Boluarte’s government but any successor government. While conflict between the advantaged peoples of Lima and the disadvantaged peoples of Peru’s interior is long-standing, it is now ferocious; the protests in Lima on Jan. 18 and 19, primarily by southern-highlands residents who traveled to the capital, were to culminate in the ‘seizure,’ or ‘toma,’ of Lima. In part, the protesters’ rage is directed at Boluarte who, they believe, did not stand up sufficiently for Castillo during the December crisis and, most importantly,…”

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The Inter-American Dialogue publishes the Latin America Advisor every business day for a distinguished membership of informed corporate leaders, scholars, and government officials invested in Latin America’s development and future. The Advisor‘s highly regarded Q&A section covers questions submitted by subscribers themselves. Commentators regularly include heads of state, business leaders, diplomats, economists, analysts, and thought leaders from around the world. Many of the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies subscribe to the Advisor. To subscribe, click here. For terms and conditions, click here. For more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.

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E. gkuleta@thedialogue.org

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Diego Arria
Director,
Columbus Group

Merike Blofield
Professor of Political Science,
University of Hamburg

Devry Boughner Vorwerk
CEO,
DevryBV Sustainable Strategies

Joyce Chang
Global Head of Research,
J.P. Morgan

Marlene Fernández
Corporate Vice President for Gov’t Relations,
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Peter Hakim
President Emeritus,
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Donna Hrinak
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Jon E. Huenemann
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GLG Inc.

James R. Jones
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Monarch Global Strategies

Craig Kelly
Senior Director,
Int’l Gov’t Relations,
Exxon Mobil

Barbara Kotschwar
Professor of Political Economy,
Georgetown University

John Maisto
Director,
US Education Finance Group

Nicolas Mariscal
Chairman,
Grupo Marhnos

Thomas F. McLarty III
Chairman,
McLarty Associates

Beatrice Rangel
Director,
AMLA Consulting

Ernesto Revilla
Head of Latin American Economics, Citi

Gustavo Roosen
President,
IESA

Andrés Rozental
President, Rozental &
Asociados

Shelly Shetty
Managing Director,
Sovereigns, Fitch

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