Night of Fury in Peru: Outrage Against President Martín Vizcarra’s Impeachment

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With music, dance, and chants, several groups of protesters expressed their outrage against the president Martín Vizcarra’s Impeachment on Monday, November 9th, in Lima. The mobilization started at 9 am in Plaza San Martín, the iconic park in the heart of Lima where protests often begin.

With phrases like “[Manuel] Merino is not my president” the demonstrations were clear about the people’s outrage against the absurd political situation that the Peruvian Congress created by ousting Vizcarra.

But, beyond looking for an impossible return of Vizcarra to the presidency of Peru, demonstrators looked more willing to express how angry the Peruvian people feel at the current situation.

The protests, initially pacific, escalated in tensions with police when protesters tried to get into the Plaza de Armas, where the Govern Palace and Republic’s Congress are located. The plaza was strongly guarded by several different police forces.

Far from last year’s Chilean uprising, protesters were not very organized, but more spontaneous. There were no confrontation lines nor self-defence groups to avoid repression.

Most of the persons who show their beliefs at the streets were young men and women, probably students, who believe not only that this is not a legitimate government, but also that they do not owe the state allegiance.

“Article 46.- Usurper Government. Insurgency right. No one owes obedience to a usurping government, nor to those who assume public functions in violation of the Constitution and the laws.”

Not coincidentally, that quote from the Peruvian Constitution was visible in different colored paints on walls around the city and on the posters of the protesters.

Before noon, the tensions finally evolved into clashes between a part of the protestors and the police. There were shots, tear gas, and baton strikes by the officers, meanwhile, the protesters answered with a rain of rocks against police barricades.

From this point, every hour meant more clashes, and each clash was harder than the previous one. The police, unusually, bombed with tear gas the famous Plaza San Martín since they tried to keep the park empty of demonstrators.

Unluckily for the forces of law and order, more people joined the riots as the sun set on the horizon, so new groups of spontaneous rioters were trying to take over the Plaza.

So as tje Police Department was trying to clear the park, other groups continued, divided groups re-grouped in nearby streets and continued their struggle in their desire to create new problems for the unpopular new president, Manuel Merino.

In the evening, the protests intensified as assistants denounced violent police abuse against divided protestors groups.

The fires in the street were frequently started by more experimented protestors, to be used as defending walls from the police at the streets. Stones were also a frequent response from the people.

Due to the pandemic, the daily curfew applies at 11 pm in Peru every day. From this hour, every person without official permission can be detained and fined in the street.

Around 9:30 PM, the steady stream of new protesters finally stopped. From this point on, the police could divide more quickly, and organize better.

The last groups started to get away from the historic centre of Lima around 10 PM. Tired and teargassed, the mass that protested on Monday contained many young men and women who never protested before, which means they’re new not only to managing police repression, but that they could strike better the next day in case the protest continues as strong as today.

That’s how the first day of Merino’s presidency was held. With the capital city historic center on fire, and many other cities mobilized against his government.