Anti-government demonstrations continued in Peru over the weekend, injuring dozens of Peruvians after renewed tensions between police and protesters across the country. The death toll has risen to 46 in six weeks of violent protests.
In the capital Lima, police fired tear gas to drive off demonstrators who threw glass bottles and stones on fire in the streets, local television footage showed.
In the country’s southern region of Puno, about 1,500 protesters attacked a police station in the city of Ilawa, Interior Minister Vicente Romero said in a media statement.
A police station in Zepit, Puno, also caught fire, Romero said.
Iławė health authorities reported eight patients hospitalized with injuries, including broken arms and legs, bruised eyes and punctures in the abdomen.
According to the Peruvian Ombudsman’s report, by the evening 58 people had been injured during demonstrations across the country.
The riots followed Thursday’s day of unrest when one of Lima’s most historic buildings burned to the ground as President Dina Boluarte vowed to take tougher action against “vandals”.
Officials have described the destruction of the building, a nearly century old mansion in downtown Lima, as the loss of a “monumental asset”. The authorities are investigating the reasons.
Romero on Friday said the fire was “properly planned and organized.”
This week, thousands of protesters gathered in Lima calling for change and were outraged by the rising death toll from the protests, which officially stood at 46 on Saturday.
Protests rocked Peru after President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December after he tried to dissolve the legislature to prevent an impeachment vote.
Unrest until this week has been concentrated in southern Peru.
In the Cusco region, Glencore Antapaccay, a large copper mine, halted operations on Friday after protesters attacked its operation – one of the largest in the country – for the third time this month.
Demonstrators also attacked airports in Arequipa, Cusco and the southern city of Juliaca, dealing another blow to Peru’s tourism industry.
“This is a nationwide chaos, you can’t live like that. We are in terrible uncertainty — the economy, vandalism,” said Lima resident Leonardo Rojas.
The government extended the state of emergency to six regions, restricting some civil rights.
But Boluarte dismissed calls for her to step down and hold early elections, instead calling for dialogue and promising to punish those involved in the unrest.
“The full severity of the law will fall on those who committed the act of vandalism,” Boluarte said on Thursday.
Some locals pointed the finger at Boluarte, accusing her of not taking action to quell the protests that began on December 7 in response to Castillo’s expulsion and arrest.
Human rights organizations accused the police and army of using lethal firearms. Police say the protesters used guns and improvised explosives.
Meanwhile, authorities have decided to close Machu Picchu’s famous tourist site amid protests, the Culture Ministry said Saturday, as hundreds of tourists were stranded near an Inca citadel amid deadly riots.
Before Machu Picchu closed on Saturday, rail links to the site had already been suspended due to track damage by demonstrators. At least 400 people, including 300 foreigners, are stuck at the foot of the site in Aguas Calientes and are begging to be evacuated.
“The closure of the Inca trail network and the citadel of Machu Picchu has been ordered due to the social situation and to ensure the safety of visitors,” the Ministry of Culture said in a statement Saturday.
Piscacucho is the closest village to Machu Picchu connected by roads. In December, several hundred stranded hikers were evacuated near the scene.
