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Peru’s democracy has failed – here’s what must come next [1]
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Date: 2023-02
“This democracy is no longer a democracy.” This is the motto of a historical social movement that is evolving in Peru. It’s no exaggeration. In December President Pedro Castillo attempted a coup d’état by dissolving Congress and was deposed; in the nine weeks since then, social unrest has left many dead. Forty-eight have died in clashes with security forces, 11 in situations related to roadblocks, and one police officer allegedly killed.
The short administration of the current president, Dina Boluarte – who was vice-president to Castillo – has unleashed a spiral of police repression, protest criminalisation and an attack on public truth, a violent acceleration of the slow collapse of Peruvian democracy.
It’s not clear how the crisis will end. But we can be certain that the next attempt at government will fail too unless it addresses wrongs that go back centuries.
The cycle that is now ending so chaotically started in 2001 after the downfall of the autocratic and corrupt ten-year regime of Alberto Fujimori. His was a precursor of today’s illiberal governments. In the preceding decade, the old parties had become less and less politically relevant; in their place electoral enterprises had arisen that mimicked the slackly regulated, informal behaviour of many Peruvian business enterprises.
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[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/changemakers/peru-castillo-protest-coup-congress-fujimori/
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