2023-07-20 21:06:29
Massive, peaceful and at times disordered. The march against the government of Dina Boluarte and the Congress summoned approximately 21,000 people yesterday, according to the Ministry of the Interior itself, in downtown Lima.
Without a single organizing collective or a specific route, the mobilization that brought together citizens with different motivations -from the resignation of Boluarte, the installation of a constituent assembly, to the release of Pedro Castillo- did not have a single displacement bloc, but diverged along different streets and avenues.
The police formed a human barrier at the intersection of Abancay and Nicolás de Piérola avenues, with the aim of preventing the protesters from reaching Congress.
The meeting point was the same: Plaza Dos de Mayo. Citizen, student and trade union groups began to leave from this place. Although the march was called from 4 in the afternoon, some protesters began to arrive in the center of Lima before 10 in the morning.
The first delegation was made up of a group of around 150 people who tried to enter Plaza San Martín, an area that was surrounded by a police cordon throughout the day. For the first time since the anti-government protests began last December, no one was allowed to enter the historic site.
After some shouting, the protesters could only stay in Jirón de la Unión, where little by little small groups of protesters would arrive. By noon, in the Plaza Dos de Mayo, the Frente por la Libertad y Democracia collectives from the La Libertad region, a delegation from Manchay and another from Callao prepared banners while trying to protect themselves as best they could from the intense heat that yesterday, in the middle of winter, reached 23°C.
start the march
By 3:30 in the afternoon there were two clear concentration points. While Plaza Dos de Mayo was filled with protesters, in Plaza San Martín, a kilometer away, different groups filled Jirón de la Unión, Jirón Ocoña and Nicolás de Piérola.
The mobilization began from both points: from Dos de Mayo the march forked into two different routes (one towards Alfonso Ugarte avenue in the direction of Plaza Bolognesi and another towards Plaza San Martín) and from Plaza San Martín, in turn, other groups left for Dos de Mayo. At times, the lack of a single organizer became evident because the new arrivals to the march did not know which route to join.
By 4 in the afternoon, vehicular traffic had to be restricted and the Metropolitano stations closed due to the increasing crowds. The street with the largest number of protesters was Alfonso Ugarte avenue, which connects Plaza Dos de Mayo with Plaza Bolognesi. The ten blocks that separate both places were filled, in the direction from north to south, with groups of workers, students and independents. From there, the march continued along Paseo Colón and Avenida Grau.
Here again the march forked. While one part followed the route to Abancay Avenue, other protesters entered the Paseo de los Héroes Navales to hold a sit-in in front of the Palace of Justice, which was also surrounded by police. The entire journey was carried out peacefully.
At all times, the police accompanied the protesters and allowed the march to continue along Miguel Grau avenue and for the march to enter Abancay avenue. In front of this tumult, which led the largest group, the agents coordinated with the leaders of the mobilization. Later, at the intersection with Av. Nicolás de Piérola, a police contingent had been deployed, including five tanks.
When the crowd reached the intersection and ran into the police, the protesters followed the police instructions and entered Nicolás de Piérola in the direction of Plaza San Martín. However, a smaller group remained at the crossroads, rebuking the police, and thus the demonstration divided again and the mass that marched behind stagnated. Around 6 pm the clashes began.
first clashes
Some demonstrators pushed the police cordon in order to enter Abancay, in the direction of the Congress of the Republic. They used smoke bombs, paint and blunt objects against the officers, who responded using their tonfa batons. The majority marched peacefully in different areas of downtown Lima, including the crowd standing at the other end of Abancay avenue.
Some clashes took place on Abancay avenue.
A few minutes later, the police withdrew the cordon and access was allowed in the direction of the Congress of the Republic. At this time, some vandals attacked the law enforcement officers who had been removed to the sidewalks. Others ran down the avenue, while the mass moved at a slower pace. There was a large police presence on every block.
police strategy
Little by little, the demonstrators began to gather on the outskirts of Congress. The largest mass still remained several blocks away. It was then that the police applied a strategy to divide the masses. On the one hand, those who were already in front of the Legislative Palace were surrounded. Several meters away, another police cordon prevented the advance of those who had just arrived.
At this time, around 6:30 in the afternoon, there were some clashes, mainly struggles. The police used tear gas and their gunmen to make both groups advance: some towards the Ricardo Palma bridge and others towards the intersection with Piérola. During this tour, which lasted about an hour, there were several struggles and attacks on both sides.
Finally, the police pushed the crowd back to Nicolás de Piérola avenue. Little by little, the march was pushed in the direction of Plaza San Martín, where there was also a large group of protesters. In this section, the highest levels of violence from both parties were evident.
By 8:15 pm, the mobilization had already been greatly reduced. There were some clashes in other parts of the capital by smaller groups. Most of them had already been pushed by the police to Plaza San Martín. There, after some struggles, the mobilization came to an end.
Almost at 9:30 pm there was another brief confrontation in the San Martín square, in Jirón Ocoña with Jirón Carabaya. The police were forced to use tear gas. In the place was a minor who was attended by the brigade members. After a few minutes of tension between demonstrators and police, everything returned to calm.
Wounded
The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported that 11 people have been treated in Lima after being injured during the protest march on July 19. Most of those treated have bruises and various injuries to the body.
A journalist identified as Gabriela Ramos Carbajal was shot in the face and arm with pellets.
Meanwhile, the Ombudsman’s Office reported 6 injured civilians and 2 police officers. One of the people most affected was the journalist Gabriela Ramos Carbajal, who was injured after being hit with pellets on Av. Abancay near the National Prosecutor’s Office.
Meanwhile, the Press Freedom Observatory of the National Association of Journalists of Peru recorded attacks on 7 men and women of the press during the day of protests. According to this report prepared by the Journalist’s Human Rights Office, 6 attacks were perpetrated by civilians and 1 by police officers.
Non-working day, July 27: What is it and who is it for?
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