Peru
Tuesday 12.4.2022 Peru - Latest Developments -
Peru: protests over price rises and violence against human rights defenders
On 3rd December 2021, Indigenous Asháninka leader Lucio Pascual Yumanga was found dead with gunshot wounds in the Puerto Bermúdez district, Pasco department. Rising fuel, fertilizer and food costs led transport workers to call for a strike in late March 2022, in protests that soon spread throughout Peru. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 2.12.2021 Peru - Latest Developments -
Communities impacted by mining and oil extraction lead wave of protests in Peru
The first months of Pedro Castillo’s presidency were marked by governability challenges, with the government often at odds with an opposition-led Congress. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 5.8.2021 Peru - Latest Developments -
Peru: polarised elections lead to protests and attacks on journalists
On 28th July 2021, Pedro Castillo of left-wing party Peru Libre was sworn in as president of Peru following six weeks of uncertainty around the country’s elections. Read more | Read in Spanish
Friday 9.4.2021 Peru - Latest Developments -
Three defenders killed as attacks on Indigenous communities increase in the Peruvian Amazon
Within a month, three Indigenous leaders were killed in the Peruvian Amazon. On 14th February 2021, Katacaibo Indigenous defender Yenes Ríos Bonsano of the Puerto Nuevo community was found dead with gunshot wounds. Read more | Read in Spanish
Thursday 19.11.2020 Peru - Latest Developments -
Upheaval in Peru as president removed
On 9th November 2020, president Martín Vizcarra was removed from office by Peru’s Congress over corruption allegations. Lawmakers voted 105-19 in favour of Vizcarra’s impeachment on the basis of a controversial “moral incapacitation” clause in the country’s legislation, which is set to be evaluated by the Constitutional Court. Read more | Read in Spanish
Wednesday 22.7.2020 Peru - Latest Developments -
Peru legislation enables disproportionate use of force by police
On 15th March 2020, Peru’s government issued a decree declaring a state of emergency on account of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The decree suspended individual constitutional rights, including rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of movement, and the requirement that the government must have a warrant before conducting arrests. Read more
Wednesday 1.4.2020 Peru - Latest Developments -
Peru: Awajun leader killed as community resists mining in their territory
On 10th and 11th February 2020, members of Peru’s Awajun and Wampis communities protested outside the main offices of the Amazonas regional government to denounce alleged action by the government to enable mining in their territories. Read more | Read in Spanish
Tuesday 22.10.2019 Peru - Latest Developments -
Peru’s institutions in turmoil after Congress dissolution
On 30th September 2019, President Martín Vizcarra dissolved Congress, Peru’s parliament, plunging Peru into a constitutional crisis. Vizcarra’s move came after the opposition-controlled Congress begn voting on new magistrates for the country’s Constitutional Court, bypassing a government proposal to reform rules for the Court’s election procedure. In a televised address, Vizcarra argued that the drastic measure was a last resort to force parliamentary elections, which have been repeatedly blocked by the legislature.
This update also covers a number of developments, including the violent repression of protests against copper mine Tía María, the detention of key union leaders during a miners protest and the proposal of a punitive defamation law.
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Monday 1.4.2019 Peru - Latest Developments -
Las Bambas mine blockade lasts 60 days and ends in arrest of leaders
From 2nd February 2019 until 10th April 2019, members of the Fuerabamba indigenous community blocked the route through which copper is transported from a Chinese-owned mine at Las Bambas to the nearest port. Fuerabamba, a Quechua-speaking community that farmed and herded animals in the Apurímac region, was relocated to a new town near Las Bambas in 2007 so that the copper mine could be built. Read more
Friday 14.12.2018 Peru - Latest Developments -
Constitutional Court decision regarding state advertising welcomed by CSOs
On 11th September 2018, the Peruvian Constitutional Court issued a decision where it declared unconstitutional a law that prohibited the State from contracting state advertising with private media. Read more
