International
Peru to debate advancing elections as protests boil
January 30 | By AFP | Carlos Mandujano |
Peru’s Congress is due on Monday to debate for the second time in days a bill to bring forward elections in a bid to end weeks of protests that have at times turned violent and left dozens dead.
The South American country has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily street protests since December 7, when then-president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
In seven weeks of demonstrations, 48 people — including one police officer — have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to the Ombudsman’s Office of Peru.
The unrest is coming mainly from poor, rural Indigenous people from southern Peru who had identified Castillo as one of their own who would fight to end poverty, racism and inequality from which they suffer.
President Dina Boluarte has urged Congress to act, warning that otherwise she will seek constitutional reform to make a vote happen.
Last month lawmakers moved up elections due in 2026 to April 2024, but as protests show no sign of abating, Boluarte now wants them held this year — a call that Congress rejected late on Friday.
“Vote for Peru, for the country, by moving the elections up to 2023,” the president said in an address to the nation on Sunday.
“Tomorrow you have a chance to win the country’s trust.”
Last week’s vote on bringing elections forward to October was defeated by 65 votes against and just 45 in favor, with two abstentions.
If lawmakers again refuse to advance elections, Boluarte said she will propose a constitutional reform so that a first round of elections will be held in October and a runoff in December.
Protesters are demanding immediate elections, Boluarte’s resignation, the dissolution of Congress and a new constitution.
First death in Lima
According to a survey by the Institute of Peruvian Studies, 73 percent of Peruvians are calling for elections this year.
“I urge parliamentarians to reflect responsibly on the decision to be made,” tweeted legislature leader Jose Williams, a right-wing retired military general who is the first in the line of succession if the president resigns.
Monday’s reconvening of Congress will coincide with the wake of Victor Santisteban, 55, a demonstrator who died Saturday after receiving blunt force trauma to his head according to a medical report.
Santisteban was the first recorded death from the protests in Peru’s capital Lima since nationwide demonstrations kicked off in December with Castillo supporters blocking highways, causing shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies.
According to the Ombudsman’s Office, Saturday’s protest in Lima saw at least seven others wounded and hospitalised, after police deployed tear gas against protesters flinging stones and cement pieces.
Geronimo Lopez, leader of the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers, said protesters would “not cease their struggle” if Boluarte does not step down.
He called for a national march for Tuesday afternoon under the slogan “Dina resigns now.”
But Boluarte, who as Castillo’s vice president was constitutionally mandated to replace him, has insisted that “nobody has any interest in clinging to power.”
Analyst Giovanna Penaflor from research firm Imasen told AFP the situation is going to get worse.
“Today we are (seeing) an unstoppable number of deaths related to political issues and this cannot continue like this,” Penaflor said.
Apart from those who have died in protests, an additional 10 civilians, including two babies, died when they were unable to get medical treatment or medicine due to roadblocks, the Ombudsman’s Office said.
The protest movement has affected Peru’s vital tourism industry, even forcing the closure of the world-renown Machu Picchu Inca citadel ruins.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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