"Why are you turning your back on the people, there are so many
deaths, for God's sake, stop this massacre," said protester Olga
Espejo, calling on President Dina Boluarte, previously
Castillo's vice president, to resign.
"Ms. Boluarte, they are using you," she said.
Protesters shouted "Dina asesina!" (Dina is a murderer) as they
carried cardboard coffins, photos of the victims and
anti-government slogans down the streets of Lima in the
capital's first mass protest since New Year.
The march, organized by trade unions and leftist groups, took
place without incident. The clashes that started in early
December mark Peru's worst outbreak of violence in more than 20
years.
While Thursday's protest was underway, Labor Minister Eduardo
Garcia announced his resignation on Twitter, saying the country
needs an apology for the deaths and urged the government to
recognize that "mistakes have been made that must be corrected."
Garcia said the situation could not wait until April 2024, when
elections have been proposed, two years earlier than required.
The crisis has touched tourist hub Cusco, which again closed its
airport on Thursday, and the country's key mining sector, which
saw a large copper mine struck by attackers and a tin mine
shuttered in solidarity for the dead.
Prime Minister Alberto Otarola said earlier on Thursday that
Boluarte would not resign, citing constitutional requirements to
consolidate the succession, "not because she does not want to."
"Leaving the presidency would open a very dangerous floodgate
for anarchy and misrule," he said.
Peru's top prosecutor's office on Tuesday launched an inquiry
against Boluarte and some top ministers. The same day, Peru's
Congress - which fiercely opposed leftist former leader Castillo
- passed a vote of confidence in the new government.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Carolina Pulice and Sarah
Morland; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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