Peruvians, Chileans, Ecuadorians and Mexicans gathered at the Angel of Independence in Mexico City to protest the 28 murders in Peru that have occurred so far in what many describe as a dictatorship.
"We have gathered together to demand justice for the murders in Peru, for the militarization of power and for the murderous Congress and the murderous Dina Boluarte who does not want to step down from power and who would rather continue shedding blood than leave the position of president for which no one elected her," explained Andrea Gómez, a Peruvian resident in Mexico for 6 years.
Among those killed by the army during the protests against Congress and against Dina Boluarte, there are at least five minors; most of them are from the jungle and mountainous regions of the country, since the capital, Lima, although it has witnessed protests, has not suffered the intense repression that has been observed in other parts of the country.
With banners demanding an end to the repression and with the names of all those killed, the protesters shouted slogans against Congress, against Dina Boluarte and even against foreign forces in Peru such as the United States Drug Enforcement Agency —DEA—as they walked around the Angel and displayed their signs to passersby and motorists passing by the area.
"They should all go! DEA out of Peru and Latin America! No to the military coup in Peru! Close Congress! No to dictatorship, yes to democracy! Peruvians, listen, join the fight! Elections in 2023! The united people will never be defeated! Justice for those killed!" were some of the slogans heard during the mobilization.
The indignation over the murders in Peru not only runs through the blood of Peruvians but also of Latin Americans and that is why some people from other nationalities also gathered at the Angel and showed solidarity with the Peruvian people.
“What is happening there is not something isolated. We are just coming out of an uprising and a revolt in Chile recently that led to a constituent process and the victory of a progressive government, and for that reason, as Chileans, we are very attentive to the other processes that are happening right now in Peru,” explained a member of the Assembly of Organized Chileans in Mexico City, while waving her hands stained with the paint used to write down the names of the murdered Peruvians.
For her, as a Chilean, it is necessary to make visible the situation in Peru because there are many similarities, especially in terms of the violence applied to the mobilizations of recent weeks and that experienced in Chile during the social outbreak of 2019.
Among the Mexicans were teachers from the Coordinating Assembly of Sections 10 and 11, which is part of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) and members of the International Coordinator of Solidarity and for the Freedom of Revolutionary Political Prisoners of the World (CISLPPRM), who also expressed their support for Peruvian society and demanded justice for those killed.
"The right has taken hold, the right has acted with fascism and has not allowed the people to go through this process of democratization. Even though Castillo arrived with that possibility, not the certainty but the possibility of moving forward along a democratic path, the extreme right in Peru has denied it," analyzed José, a member of the CISLPPRM.
Mexico City is not the only place in the country where protests have been called to demand justice; a march was also held in Oaxaca on December 21 and a sit-in was called for December 22 at the Peruvian consulate in Guadalajara.
Asked if they would protest again, the Peruvians looked at each other and, with anguish on their faces, explained: "It depends. If the repression continues, we will have to go and protest, but now at the embassy."
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