By Rishaan Chowdhury
Six months ago, in a country located just south of Ecuador lay Peru. Nestled in between the Pacific ocean and the Andes, this beautiful destination was a thriving place, with a stable democracy and a growing economy with Peru’s GDP growing by 2.7% in 2022. But suddenly in December former President Pedro Castillo announced plans to dissolve congress, this was because of an impeachment vote that was about to occur. Unfortunately for him Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of overthrowing him citing conspiracy and rebellion crimes. He attempted to flee the country but was apprehended by police in the extreme traffic of Lima, Peru’s capital. After his apprehension vice president Lina Boluarte was sworn in, becoming Peru’s first female leader. Since then this country has gone into turmoil with protesters and rioters clashing with security forces. President Boluarte has deployed riot police and protesters are having more violent confrontations with the police. Protests calling for her resignation and new elections have been suppressed. In order to keep the peace she scheduled them in two years but as protests escalated she scheduled them this December out of desperation. Peru’s stability collapsed in just a few months. To understand this strange and sudden set of events one needs to take a step back into the history of this troubled nation.
Peru has been experiencing civil unrest for decades but the height was between the 1980’s and 2000’s when - as a result of the cold war - severe violence occurred between the government and the Maoist Shining Path communist forces. Additionally the violence between the Maoists and the Peruvian government led to another guerilla group called the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. This revolutionary group was inspired by the Cuban revolution and was one of the many revolutions incited by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement was not a major player in the violence. This brutal conflict caused many massacres, Shining Path forces horrifically killed tons of civilians in towns as retaliation for their leaders’ deaths. Shining Path’s failure was because of their lack of support. Not enough Peruvians supported the Maoist insurgency and that resulted in its eventual demise. Shining Path has never been completely defeated as they remain as a terrorist group that commits occasional attacks on the Peruvian government and armed forces. In 1993 they drove a car bomb into the U.S. Embassy in Lima - similar to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi’s bombing by Al Qaeda-. In both instances the United States represented the west and democracy. Shining Path’s attack represented the fight against capitalism and democracy. Despite these attacks Shining Path remains a minor player in terrorism. Many older people in Peru now find resemblance of this “civil war” to the current unrest.
When former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo was elected he was considered a far left leader who could represent everyone. He was one of only two Peruvian presidents to have been born outside of Lima. He had a lot of support amongst indigenous tribes who believed that he could represent them. The whole world believed this socialist school teacher could finally be a fair leader who would bring equality to Peru. His Marxist party’s common slogan was “Never again a poor man in a rich country!”. Unfortunately after he took office in 2021 he became entangled in corruption scandals which eventually led to his failed coup attempt in December of last year. Despite all of these allegations many indigenous members consider him a victim of political elites and a Congress that is widely unpopular and considered corrupt,. Castillo has become a symbol of the rich elite oppressing indigenous people. Many protesters are calling for a dissolution of the Congress and the release of Pedro Castillo. The Peruvian Congress has been considered corrupt for years and is not popular but dissolving it may not necessarily quell the violence. President Dina Boluarte’s attempts to terminate the protests have included requesting the congress to bring elections to December but this was opposed. Castillo’s ousting represents the oppression of Peruvian indigenous tribes by the Peruvian government. But if Castillo is released, a civil war and Castillo’s arrest could reoccur and the Marxism that Castillo’s party stands for could reignite the civil war between communists and the Peruvian government.
Castillo’s coup attempt is clearly not black and white. He attempted to dissolve a corrupt legislative body but did so while abusing his power. He gave oppressed indigenous tribes in Peru a voice but also attempted to suspend the constitution. While his actions were terrible and he shouldn’t be the leader of a country, when leaders switch so frequently it collapses the country. Eventually there will be another Pedro Castillo in the Government Palace and eventually someone will succeed. Peru has seen how bad violence can get and connecting the current events to history suggests Peru and the global community has to navigate a very delicate path to avoid a freefall back into those unfortunate conditions.
Sources: BBC and Reuters