Lima, (EFE).- The Government of Peru declared a state of emergency this Sunday in the southern departments of Madre de Dios, Apurímac, Arequipa and Moquegua for 60 days, and extended the measure for the same period in the regions of Cuzco, Puno and Tacna to control the protests that have claimed the lives of 69 people.
Through a supreme decree published in the official newspaper El Peruano, the Executive extended the state of emergency to these areas where the largest anti-government protests demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the closure of Congress, advancement of elections by 2023 and a call for a constituent assembly.
The measure was already applied in Cuzco, Puno and Tacna, and in some provinces of Apurímac, Madre de Dios and Moquegua, but now it is being extended to a regional level and includes Arequipa.
Likewise, the Government decreed in mid-January and for 30 days a state of emergency in Lima, Callao, Amazonas and La Libertad, so that a total of eleven departments remain in a state of emergency.
The decree establishes that during the state of emergency, “the constitutional rights related to the inviolability of the home, freedom of transit through the national territory, freedom of assembly and personal freedom and security” are restricted or suspended.
The norm also specifies that the National Police of Peru maintains internal order, with the support of the Armed Forces, “with the exception of the department of Puno, where internal control is required to be assumed by the Armed Forces.”
It details that the intervention of the forces of order is carried out in accordance with the current regulations that regulate the use of force by the Police and the decrees that establish the rules of employment and use of force by the military.
The document also states that the President of the Republic can decree a state of emergency in case of “disturbance of peace or internal order, catastrophe or serious circumstances that affect the life of the nation.”
On the other hand, the third article of the decree extends the mandatory social immobilization for ten days, between 8:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., which was already in force in the southern region of Puno, one of the epicenters of the protests.
Since the protests began last December, after the failed self-coup by ex-president Pedro Castillo, 69 people have lost their lives, most of whom were protesters who died in clashes with law enforcement, one was a police officer and twenty more died. for events related to the mobilizations.
The norm bears the signatures of President Boluarte, the Prime Minister, Alberto Otárola, and the holders of the Defense, Interior and Justice portfolios.
