Anjana Meza is a JURIST Staff Correspondent in Lima, and a law student in the Facultad de Derecho, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

January was a difficult month for all Peruvians. Once Dina Boluarte was sworn in as president of Peru in December 2022, protests did not take long to appear. With the new year, we thought things were going to get better, but they didn’t. On the contrary, more Peruvians joined the protests and headed for Lima. These protests had one objective: the resignation of Dina Boluarte and the advancement of elections.

The protesters began to take to the streets of downtown Lima, where the main state entities such as the Judiciary, the Public Ministry, Congress and the Government Palace are located. The armed forces also took to the streets to prevent riots.

However, the protests were increasing. College students from different universities joined the protests and the level of violence gradually increased. One of the most critical moments came on January 21, when the police entered San Marcos University, breaking the door, because the protesters who came from all over Peru were staying there.

This situation mainly outraged university students, as the police detained several of them and others were injured. Various student groups with the support of teachers began to provide legal support to people who had been wrongfully detained and who had also been hurt. They also had the support of Peru’s Ombudsman’s Office, which began to send observers so that they could monitor the protests and be aware of any attempt at violence or abuse of power by the police.

Likewise, a working group from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) arrived in Peru and condemned the level of violence that had been occurring in the country and regretted the actions of the State in the face of repression.

Unfortunately, the protests in Lima and in various parts of the country have continued and have resulted in the deaths of 65 people to date.

The UN pointed out that the deaths of people during the protests should be investigated, given the context in which the deaths occurred.

Here are some comments from college students:

“The police are not being peaceful, they are hitting and shooting as they please.”

“Nobody controls the use of force by the police, there are many abuses.”

“That they have entered the San Marcos University is a sign of a dictatorial government”

“The politicians messed with the San Marcos University, they messed with the students, they messed with the future of the country. Politicians want to remember the terrible time of Fujimori where they entered the universities by force “

I hope that soon the situation in my country will improve and the social and political conflicts can be resolved.