A family from Iquitos takes shelter at the door of their house, while they watch the police guarding the demonstrators of the march against the congress and the new Peruvian government pass by in Iquitos, Peru, on Dec. 15.Patrick Murayari/The Global and Mail
Since Peru’s leftist president Pedro Castillo was ousted from power and arrested last week, protests have consumed Lima and southern Peru, leading to violent clashes, a state of emergency and airport closings.
While sometimes deadly demonstrations have grown elsewhere, in Iquitos, the country’s largest city in the Amazon and a bustling commercial hub, daily life carried on this week – with the usual roar of mototaxis, small businesses selling their wares and street carts selling fruits from the jungle.
It wasn’t until Thursday – eight days after the president’s removal in Lima – that the first protests began in Iquitos, when calls for a national strike and fresh elections spread to more remote areas of the country. Long-standing grievances began drawing people to the streets.
Protesters run from police during the national march against congress and the new Peruvian government.Patrick Murayari/The Global and Mail
Indigenous groups from the Amazon, including the Regional Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Eastern Amazon (ORPIO), marched peacefully in the morning. By the afternoon, in the humid heat, a large gathering of labour unions, including construction workers and teachers, walked through the streets of Iquitos and nearby settlement of Belen amid a growing police and armed-forces presence. By the evening, a gathering of youth clustered to hold a vigil at the centre in Plaza 28, one of the city’s main squares.
The reasons for gathering differed, but the common demands were calls to dissolve Congress, accelerate new general elections and throw out corrupt politicians. Many want Dina Boluarte, who assumed the presidency, and initially said she would govern until 2026, to resign. Some protesters sported pro-Castillo signs – in support of the former president now detained after he tried to shut down Congress to avoid an impeachment vote, held amid corruption allegations. On Thursday, a Peruvian judge ordered Mr. Castillo to remain in custody for 18 months.
“Free the president,” said one handwritten placard. “Respect the popular will,” said another.
A civil construction worker participates in the national march.Patrick Murayari/The Global and Mail
One young person said life in Iquitos is hard, and that she came to fight injustice. “People just want something better for their families,” she said. “We’re going to fight, we are going to resist for as long as it’s necessary.”
The Globe is not naming her because she fears reprisals for speaking to the media.
Reached only by air or river, the city of nearly half a million people has felt a world away from tumultuous events – including the deaths of at least 16 protesters – in other parts of the country. The morning after the government declaration Wednesday of a 30-day nationwide state of emergency, people went about their business, with initially few road blockages, unlike in other cities.
In Iquitos, its remote and difficult-to-access location, combined with its position as a crucial trade hub, may help explain why social unrest has been slower to build. People in the region, however, are grappling with serious social issues, any one of which could trigger wider resistance: among them high levels of poverty, poor infrastructure and inadequate housing, concerns over the environment, a weak state and rising food costs.
An Indigenous musician in traditional regalia at the national march.
The government of Peru declared a national state of emergency ahead of the day of nationwide protests.Patrick Murayari/The Global and Mail
Other issues are unique to the Amazon region. Jose Manuyama, who is a co-ordinator for the Committee for the Defense of Water and is part of the Kukama Indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, is seeking stronger environmental protections on issues such as illegal mining, oil spills and deforestation. It’s time to abandon “the contaminating, corruption pattern” of this economic system, he said.
Recent events show “the entire country is in the streets today, asking for changes. We may not clearly know what that change is, but we all ask for change.”
Peru has been through years of political turmoil and corruption scandals. Mr. Castillo, a former schoolteacher and union leader, was elected in 2021, with the promise he would address poverty and inequality, and overhaul the political system. Lawmakers voted to remove him last week after he sought to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
Citizens of the Peruvian Amazon take to the streets to march in solidarity with the young people who died in Ayacucho.Patrick Murayari/The Global and Mail
The political crisis has only deepened the turmoil gripping the country, which has had six presidents since 2016. The crisis has also stranded thousands of tourists, including Canadians, in areas such as the ancient city of Machu Picchu. The Canadian embassy in Peru said local authorities are organizing four humanitarian flights to those stranded in Machu Picchu.
On Wednesday, the government declared a national state of emergency ahead of the day of nationwide protests. This includes suspending some civil rights, including freedom of assembly and freedom of movement, and giving the police powers, supported by the military, to search people’s homes without permission.
The United Nations said Friday it has “deep concern” over reports of deaths and detentions of minors involved in the demonstrations.
A citizen shows her poster demanding new elections and the reinstatement of Pedro Castillo to the presidency of Peru.Patrick Murayari/The Global and Mail
Also on Friday, several cabinet ministers resigned. Peru’s Congress rejected a proposed constitutional change that would have brought elections forward to next year – one of the key demands of the protesters.
Protests and clashes with police have been especially violent in the impoverished Andean regions that were the mainstay of support for Mr. Castillo. In recent days, protesters have attacked airports, factories, police stations and courthouses. Main highways have been blocked and several airports seized by protesters.
Back in Iquitos, the capital of Peru’s Loreto region and a crucial hub for trade including timber, fish and agricultural goods, there has been no action to take over the airport or port.
Different civil associations of the city of Iquitos, among them the association of the disabled of Peru, were present at the national march.Patrick Murayari/The Global and Mail
At the Thursday afternoon march, observers – mostly women, clad in blue vests that said “defensoria del pueblo” – walked alongside the march to ensure civil rights weren’t violated.
While 15 provinces now have overnight curfews, Iquitos did not as of Friday. The main port, the airport and streets all remain open. Tourism, including ayahuasca jungle retreats, continues uninterrupted.
Mr. Manuyama said he’s looking for a “democratic restart.”
With a report from Reuters