Workers in Peru’s Lima and Callao regions went on strike over April 10–11, protesting the Dina Boluarte government’s failure to combat rising violence and insecurity.
The actions followed a previous strike on April 7 — triggered by the murder of bus driver Loymer Benigno on April 4 — and a series of protests spearheaded by transport workers in October and November last year.
The ongoing protests and strikes are occurring in the context of worsening violence in the country.
Organised crime groups are exploiting the level of impunity and government inaction to extort workers and businesses. Workers, particularly in the transport sector, and small business-owners are forced to pay daily extortion payments, and can have their property destroyed, be threatened with violence or killed, if they fail to do so.
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A protester in Lima, who wished to remain anonymous, told Green Left that people are “fed up” with the levels of insecurity, lack of safety and the wave of crime sweeping through the country.
“So, we’ve taken to the streets to protest, from the unions, from all sectors.
“We’re supporting the transport workers, their families, and those who’ve lost loved ones — they’re left in uncertainty, and the government simply doesn’t care.”
There were 2565 registered reports of extortion between January and March, which already outnumbers the total cases reported in 2022, 2023 and last year.
At least 16 drivers have been murdered in Lima since the start of the year, for failing to pay extortion fees to criminal organisations.
In Lima and Callao, at least 20,000 vehicles from 460 transport companies stopped running, paralysing the cities’ transport network.
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Convoys of buses and protesters marched along main roads across the cities, with some converging in front of the Congress building in the centre of Lima.
Outside Congress, marchers chanted “The people are bleeding to death — the government does nothing” and “The people, united, will never be defeated”.
“Starting from the president and congress — everything is corrupt; they do nothing. They just wash their hands of it all. And it’s the people who pay the price,” the protester told GL.
“We’re asking for this president and this inept Congress to go.”
A group of Fujimoristas — supporters of right-wing dictator Alberto Fujimori and his daughter Keiko, whose party controls Congress and various branches of government — attempted to disrupt the peaceful protest by shoving people, throwing water bottles and sabotaging a sound system.
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Gov’t response
Government ministers have responded to the strikes by downplaying them and attempting to absolve themselves of responsibility.
President Boluarte fronted the media on the day of the strike to callously declare: “In just two years of my government, we will not be able to solve what has not been solved in more than 20, 30, 40 years. It’s not my responsibility.”
Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén blamed strikers for “paralysing the provinces of Lima and Callao” and for costing the government money that “we need to fight crime”.
The disingenuous responses belie the fact the Boluarte government is actively worsening the violence and insecurity crises.
Congress and the executive branch of government passed a series of laws that make it harder to investigate and legally prosecute organised crime. For example, Law 32108 — approved by Congress in August last year — modified the definition of organised crime in the criminal code, excluding crimes such as extortion, human and organ trafficking, illegal logging and corruption by officials.
Legal analysts say that the law weakens and slows down investigations into organised crime, and actually helps its growth. Unsurprisingly, the law favours several congresspeople currently under investigation for corruption and links to organised crime.
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Authoritarian
While allowing crime to flourish since coming to power in December 2022, Boluarte’s government is characterised by authoritarianism and police brutality against peaceful anti-government protests.
In its latest heavy-handed response against the strikes and protests in Lima, police blocked and attacked a convoy of protesters coming from the north of the city towards the centre. Despite this, protesters broke through the police barricades to reach the Congress building. Police then kettled the march onto the footpath in front of the Congress, while a police helicopter circled overhead.
Such repression of peaceful protesters is common, while police generally fail to act on reported cases of extortion, gender-based violence and other crimes. Unsurprisingly, police officers have been found to be involved in criminal organisations and extortion.
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Meanwhile, police have failed to protect workers from the daily violence by criminal groups and the reprisals when they resist.
Transport union representative Felipe Miranda was attacked by two armed men while catching the bus home on April 11 and was hospitalised. The attack is assumed to be retaliation by extortionists.
Transport unions announced a national strike for May 14, given the government’s failure to meet their demands.