Peru suspends curfew after widespread protests

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Peru's president announced Tuesday that a curfew he had decreed hours earlier in the capital Lima and neighboring port city of Callao was being lifted to contain protests.

“I would like to announce that as of this moment, we are overturning the curfew,” said Pedro Castillo, which he had imposed after Peruvians took to the streets to protest increases in fuel, food and fertilizer prices.

"We now call on the Peruvian people to keep calm," said the leftist leader, who was seated next to the president of Congress, opposition leader Maria del Carmen Alva.

Castillo had announced the curfew shortly before midnight on Monday, a move that drew criticism from broad sectors of the population, including leftist leaders.

In issuing the restrictions, he ordered residents of Lima and Callao to remain in their homes for approximately 22 hours in an attempt to curb protests over rising prices triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Western sanctions on Russia have cut off oil and fertilizer supplies, hurting emerging economies like Peru’s.

But in clear defiance of the measures imposed by the president, thousands of people came out to protest what they saw as a violation of their individual liberties, which led the government to cut the curfew short just after 5 p.m. local time.

Peru’s Interior Ministry released a statement calling on citizens to peacefully protest.

“We urge citizens to demonstrate in a peaceful manner, without violence, without disturbing public order and in strict respect for public and private property, but above all for integrity and human life,” it said.

On Tuesday, stores were closed, classes were suspended and public transportation was scarce in Lima and Callao, home to 10 million people. Moments of tension were experienced in Lima, where demonstrators confronted members of the police who used tear gas to chase them away.

"Peru is not going through a good time," said Castillo, who survived an impeachment trial in Congress a few days ago. In the streets, many are demanding the president's resignation.

​​Castillo, a union leader and primary school teacher known for leading a Peruvian teachers' strike in 2017, rose to power last year with support from Peru's rural population. ​​​​​​​