International
Peru Congress to resume debate on bringing elections forward
January 31 | By AFP | Carlos Mandujano |
Peru’s Congress will resume debate Tuesday on a bill to bring forward elections, a move aimed at ending weeks of protests that have left dozens dead and brought parts of the country to a standstill.
On Monday, lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the bill after seven hours of discussions, and proceedings will resume at 11:00 am on Tuesday (1600 GMT), according to the legislature.
“We are sure that there will be a way out. All the democratic blocs are going to debate it taking into account the high sense of urgency,” said Prime Minister Alberto Otarola on Monday.
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.
The unrest is being propelled mainly by 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.
Dozens of roadblocks have been set up by protesters, causing a shortage of food and fuel in some southern areas as they demand that Castillo’s replacement, President Dina Boluarte, step down.
Trade unions and other bodies have called for another major demonstration against Boluarte in Lima on Tuesday.
Bringing elections forward
Last month, lawmakers moved elections due in 2026 to April 2024, but as protests showed no sign of abating, Boluarte has called to hold them this year, which Congress rejected late 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.
Lawmakers “have a chance to win the country’s trust,” she said.
In last week’s vote on moving elections to October, there were 65 votes against and just 45 in favor, with two abstentions.
If reconvened lawmakers again refuse to advance elections, Boluarte has said she will propose a constitutional reform allowing a first voting round to be held in October and a runoff in December.
Protesters are demanding immediate elections, the dissolution of Congress and a new constitution.
In the Lima suburb of Huaycan, hundreds of people marched on Monday chanting: “No more deaths, Dina quit now.”
Dozens of soldiers headed to Ica, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of the capital, to support police in clearing roadblocks on the vital Panamericana Sur highway that connects major cities.
Weeks of roadblocks have caused shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies countrywide.
First death in Lima
According to a survey by the Institute of Peruvian Studies, 73 percent of citizens want elections this year.
Monday’s congressional sitting coincided with a wake for Victor Santisteban, 55, a demonstrator who died Saturday after receiving blunt force trauma to the head, according to a medical report.
Santisteban’s death was the first recorded in Lima since the protests started.
According to the human rights ombudsman’s office, Saturday’s protest in the capital saw at least seven people hospitalized after police used tear gas on demonstrators hurling stones and cement pieces.
Geronimo Lopez, leader of the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers, said protesters would “not cease their struggle” until Boluarte steps down, and called for a national march Tuesday.
Boluarte, who as Castillo’s vice president was constitutionally mandated to replace him, has insisted that “nobody has any interest in clinging to power.”
Apart from those who have died in protests, 10 civilians — including two babies — died when they were unable to get medical treatment or medicine due to roadblocks, according to the ombudsman’s office.
The protest movement has affected Peru’s vital tourism industry, forcing the closure of the world-renowned Machu Picchu Inca citadel ruins.
In the district of Poroy, about 15 kilometers from Cusco, about 300 people queued Monday to buy a gas bottle for domestic use.
“There are people here queuing since 3.00 am… I have not had any gas for two weeks,” 33-year-old housewife Gabriela Alvarez told AFP.
“We have had to go back in time to cook with firewood and charcoal which hurts the lungs,” she said.
Peru’s Las Bambas copper mine — responsible for about two percent of global metal supply — said Monday it would have to halt production starting Wednesday unless the roadblocks were lifted.
Chinese owner MMG said in a statement that “after transportation interruptions that affected both entry and exit traffic, (the company) has been forced to start a progressive slowdown of its Las Bambas operation due to a shortage of critical supplies.”
International
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 28, with six people reported missing and 43 injured, local newspaper VnExpress reported Friday night.
More than 22,100 homes remain flooded, primarily in the cities of Hue and Da Nang. Floods and landslides have destroyed or swept away 91 houses and damaged another 181, the report added.
Around 245,000 households are still without electricity, particularly in Da Nang, where over 225,000 homes are affected.
Additionally, 80 stretches of national highways are blocked or disrupted due to landslides. Authorities expect the flooding to continue for another day or two in the region.
International
FBI foils ISIS-Inspired attack in Michigan, arrests five teens
Kash Patel did not provide further details, but police sources told CBS News that the potential attack was “inspired” by the Islamic State (ISIS).
“This morning, the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested several individuals in Michigan who were allegedly planning a violent attack during the Halloween weekend,” Patel wrote on X.
“Thanks to swift action and close coordination with our local partners, a possible terrorist act was prevented before it could be carried out,” he added.
CBS reported that five people between the ages of 16 and 20 were arrested on Friday. At least one of them was reportedly acquainted with a former member of the Michigan National Guard, who was arrested in May for plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on a U.S. military facility in the Detroit suburbs.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
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