MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th February, 2023) After violent clashes between protesters and police officers left over 50 people dead, a young farmer from southeastern Peru explained to Sputnik why locals from rural regions in the country will continue to protest until new elections are held.
Born in Sicuani, a small agricultural town in the Cusco region where she still lives, Nilda Mendoza Coronel has been working on her family's farm since childhood.
"We raise cows, horses and sheep. And we also produce dairy products. In terms of agriculture, we grow potatoes, quinoa and corn," the 35-year-old farmer told Sputnik.
When, after he attempted to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, Pedro Castillo was removed from presidential office and then imprisoned last December, the political chaos in the capital city appeared to be far away from Mendoza Coronel, as she lived 420 miles southeast from Lima.
However, like many farmers from rural areas in Peru, Mendoza Coronel jumped into action to join the protests against what they viewed as the arbitrary removal of a president who shared a similarly humble background to theirs. For the ousted President Castillo is himself from a farming family in northern Peru.
"I salute the brothers who are in the capital of Lima. I salute those men and women who knew how to stand up and march through the streets and shout for the resignation of the government, which is the government of arbitrariness," she said.
The young farmer went on to explain why they decided to march in the streets.
"For so many years, we have been forgotten. We have been discriminated against for being provincials, farmers, and livestock breeders. But today, more than ever, we are unanimously calling for an end to the inequality in our country. It is important to restore the dignity and democracy of our beloved motherland," she said.
Mendoza Coronel has been taking part in the protests in her town since last December. She even showed a picture of her family members riding horses to join a protest she organized.
In another photo she shared with Sputnik, a group of farmers from the Cusco region took a picture in front of a bus before they went on a trip to join the protests in Lima.
"Many of us are in the capital. We gathered together and spent our own money to travel there. That's because the Peruvian people are united when it comes to respecting democracy in our country," she said.
As many farmers traveled to Lima to join the protests, violent clashes broke out on their way when the national police in Peru tried to stop them.
"If there was a clash with the national police, it was because the police did not let the farmers into the capital," Mendoza Coronel said.
More than two months after Castillo was removed from office, thousands of protesters continue to march in the streets on a daily basis all over the country.
One of the key demands from the protesters was for Dina Boluarte, who was sworn in as Peru's first woman president after Castillo was impeached, to resign and hold new elections.
Deadly clashes between angry protesters and police officers left at least 50 people dead.
Castillo, who is held in the Barbadillo maximum security prison while awaiting trial on charges of rebellion and conspiracy, gave an interview published by Peru's El Salto newspaper on Tuesday.
The ousted president said he had feared for his life since receiving death threats during the campaign for the second round of the 2021 presidential election, and argued that he was the victim of a plot from right-wing politicians and their supporters in Peru.
In a previous interview with Sputnik, Silvia Caballero Crousillat, who was a supporter of right-wing politicians in Peru, explained that they stood against left-wing politicians like Castillo because the political left had been in power in the country for over 20 years since the ousting of Alberto Fujimori as president in 2000.
But Mendoza Coronel said protesters like her were equally disappointed with the left-wing politicians who have been in power over the past 20 years.
"When they come to power, they even forget about their political origins," she said when commenting on the performance of left-wing politicians in Peru.
Their grievances were more about the corruption and the arbitrary nature of Castillo's removal, she explained.
"It's not exactly that it (Boluarte or other right-wing politicians) would lead to bad policies. We are tired of the corruption and betrayal," she said.
Instead of focusing on supporting ousted Castillo, the priority for the protesters is to hold new elections and restore democracy in Peru, Mendoza Coronel added.
"I, in particular, believe that Castillo did not have the full ability to govern our state. We want new elections. We are talking about a change of government. We want a government that is not manipulated by anyone. We want a capable government," she said.
Mendoza Coronel pointed out that many of the protesters were farmers from different regions like herself and they were not manipulated by a specific leader.
"There is no leader. We just gathered ourselves. We used different ways to communicate, including our cell phones," she said.
The young farmer believes that the protests in Peru will continue until Boluarte agrees to resign and hold new elections in the country.
