The 2020 Peruvian protests were a series of demonstrations sparked after the removal of President Martín Vizcarra that took place from 9 November to 17 November 2020.
The controversial removal of Vizcarra was recognized as a coup d'état by many Peruvians, political analysts and media outlets in the country. Protests were registered in several cities of the country, to show their outrage at the president's vacancy and reject the inauguration of the president of Congress, Manuel Merino. Upon taking office, Merino formed a far-right government.
The protests have been described as the largest demonstrations in Peru in the past two decades and are organized by grassroots groups of young Peruvians on social media. The disproportional response by authorities has been condemned by various human rights organizations, including the United Nations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and Amnesty International.
After reports that two protesters were killed by authorities on 14 November, the majority of ministers from Merino's government resigned from office while Merino resigned the following day; he was president for five days. Along with the aftermath of two dead, hundreds were left injured and over 40 citizens were reported as missing and authorities have refused to investigate further. On 16 November, the Congress of Peru elected Francisco Sagasti as the president of the legislature, automatically elevating him to the Peruvian presidency under the constitution.
Background
Martín Vizcarra was elected as First Vice President of Peru in a 2016 general election, running with Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of the Peruanos Por el Kambio party. On 23 March 2018, Vizcarra was sworn into office as president of Peru following the resignation of President Kuczynski. Upon being sworn into office, Vizcarra stated "we've had enough", vowing to combat corruption as president.
Opposition from congress
Throughout Vizcarra's tenure, he faced opposition from the Congress of Peru. He initially faced opposition from the Fujimorist congress when pushing for the constitutional referendum in 2018, an election that resulted in laws prohibiting the private funding of political campaigns and a ban on reelecting lawmakers. Into 2019, the Fujimorist congress continued to delay Vizcarra's reforms, with Vizcarra later dissolving the congress after instituting a motion of no confidence, saying it was "clear the democracy of our nation is at risk".
A legislative election was held later on 26 January 2020 which replaced the dissolved congress, with centrist parties replacing the Fujimorist majority in congress. Analysts Diego Pereira and Lucila Barbeito of JPMorgan Chase & Co described the new congress as being "even more antagonistic to the [Vizcarra] government than the previous one" while Americas Quarterly wrote that the four main right-wing parties of congress – Alliance for Progress, Podemos Perú, Popular Action and Union for Peru – feared Vizcarra's anti-corruption measures on campaign financing, political transparency and the participation of convicted persons in government.
As Peru's economy declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, Vizcarra faced increased political pressure from the newly inaugurated congress presided by Manuel Merino, with the majority of the legislative body being controlled by those opposing Vizcarra. Finally on 5 July 2020, Vizcarra proposed a referendum to be held during the 2021 Peruvian general election to remove parliamentary immunity, though congress quickly responded by assembling that same night to pass their own immunity bill that contained proposals to remove immunity from the president, constitutional court and the human rights ombudsman while also strengthening some instances of parliamentary immunity.
Impeachment and removal of Vizcarra
First attempt at removal
In early 2020, investigations began surrounding a contract for a little-known singer by the name of Richard Cisneros to perform speeches for the Ministry of Culture. The first impeachment process was led by the imprisoned Antauro Humala and his Union for Peru (UPP) party, according to reports in Peru. Humala was sentenced to 19 years in prison following his Andahuaylazo uprising against President Alejandro Toledo that resulted in the deaths of police. From his cell, Humala reportedly orchestrated the impeachment process with members of congress and his UPP supporters. Edgar Alarcón, a UPP congressman and a close supporter of Humala, took charge of the impeachment process against Vizcarra. Alarcón himself, according to Vice News, was protected from criminal charges of embezzlement and illicit monetary gains due to parliamentary immunity, charges that could have resulted with seventeen years in prison.
It was alleged that an inexperienced Cisneros was able to receive payments totaling US$50,000 due to contacts in the Government Palace. Investigators searched offices in the Government Palace on 1 June 2020 regarding the alleged irregularities. Vizcarra responded to the release of the recordings stating "I am not going to resign. I am not running away" and that the "audios have been edited and maliciously manipulated; as you can see, they purposely seek to turn a job-related claim into a criminal or political act, wanting to take words out of context and intend to accuse me of non-existent situations. Nothing is further from reality".
Peru's democracy is, unfortunately, sinking further and further into crisis, ... The removal of the president is a really big deal, and it requires serious deliberation, public debate and investigation. There has been none.
President of Congress Manuel Merino was criticized by critics regarding how he hastily pushed for impeachment proceedings against Vizcarra. If Vizcarra were to be removed from office, Merino would assume the presidential office given his position in congress and due to the absence of vice presidents for Vizcarra. On 12 September 2020, renowned reporter Gustavo Gorriti wrote that Merino had contacted the Commanding General of the Peruvian Navy, Fernando Cerdán, notifying him that he was going to attempt to impeach Vizcarra and was hoping to assume the presidency. Minister of Defense Jorge Chávez confirmed that Merino had tried to establish support with the Peruvian military. A second report was later released that Merino had contacted officials throughout Peru's government while preparing to create a transitional cabinet. Following the release of these reports, support for impeaching Vizcarra decreased among members of congress, with congress voting not to remove Vizcarra from the presidency.
Removal of Vizcarra
After the first attempt failed, the Union for Peru bench raised a new vacancy request in October 2020, based on the alleged acts of corruption committed by Vizcarra when he was regional Governor of Moquegua, which includes the testimony of an applicant to an effective collaborator in the "Construction Club Case" who stated that the Obrainsa company paid him 1 million soles and three other aspiring effective collaborators also point out that he received 1.3 million soles from the Ingenieros Civiles y Contractors Generales SA consortium (ICCGSA), and Incot for the tender of the project for the construction of the Regional Hospital of Moquegua in 2013. On 2 November, impeachment was initiated by the Congress of Peru with 60 votes in favor, 40 against and 18 abstentions. Vizcarra attended the plenary session in Congress on 9 November to defend himself against the accusations.
On 9 November 2020, a total of 105 members of Congress voted to remove Vizcarra from office, exceeding the 87 votes (out of 130) that were still needed to impeach him. Merino, who succeeded him as president the following day, with a mandate to serve as president until July 2021. Vizcarra called the accusations baseless and false, but still accepted the vote by Congress and promised not to take any other legal action.
Timeline
9 November
President Martín Vizcarra was summoned to testify and present his defense to Congress at 10 am PET. After hours of parliamentary debate, the Congress of Peru voted to convict the President with 105 votes in favor, surpassing the 87 vote threshold for conviction. Following the vote, crowds began to gather at Plaza San Martín in protest. An incident occurred in Plaza Bolívar, outside of Congress, in which congressman Ricardo Burga was assaulted by a protestor when giving a press conference regarding the impeachment vote. Demonstrations spawned in other parts of the country and continued well into midnight, past the 11 p.m. curfew imposed by the government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru.
10 November
Following the inauguration of congressional leader Manuel Merino as president, demonstrations increased from early in the morning to the evening. Under the slogan "Merino does not represent me", from early in the morning they began to mobilize in the direction of the Legislative Palace, which was stopped by the National Police of Peru (NPP).
A large number of protesters were mobilized to Plaza San Martín, where the NPP impeded protestors using tear gas and making multiple arrests. There were other confrontations between protesters and the NPP in Jirón de la Unión, while the former were dispersed when trying to approach en masse the Government Palace of Peru. Various demonstrations and arrests were recorded in regions and cities of the country, such as Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Huancayo and Iquitos. Hundreds of people gathered in the main squares and streets of Huancayo, Cuzco, Apurímac, Tacna and Puno. In Lima there were at least 16 arrested, according to Congresswoman Carolina Lizárraga.
11 November
In the morning, news outlets reported that Merino called his predecessor's Minister of Internal Affairs, César Gentile, suggesting that he was concerned that the protests were not being controlled. Gentile responded to Merino's hint by exclaiming "I am no longer the Minister of the Interior!" and resigning the post in his phone call with Merino.
As a way to maintain measures of social distancing, hundreds of protesters in Lima and the other major cities of the country carried out cacerolazos in multi-family residential buildings and "honks" in the streets against the Merino and in support of the ousted president Martín Vizcarra.
During this day, there were peaceful demonstrations in city center of Lima, and other districts such as Miraflores and Surco, where groups of young people came to the front of the National Superintendence of University Education (SUNEDU) to demand that SUNEDU respect the autonomy in the licensing of universities and the autonomy of this institution. In Huancavelica, about 5,000 residents tried to take control of the Mantaro hydroelectric plant, they were dispersed with tear gas bombs thrown by the police. In Puerto Maldonado, more than twenty people were detained and one journalist was injured during demonstrations.
The Justice and Human Rights Commission of the Congress of the Republic refused to summon the Deputy Commander General of the National Police of Peru to testify for the arrests in the midst of the protests.
12 November
The National March, beginning at 5 pm PET, occurred throughout Peru to demand the resignation of President Manuel Merino, with a primary location being at Plaza San Martín. Richard Cisneros, who was the singer involved in Vizcarra's first impeachment scandal, arrived at the plaza minutes before the march began, angering protesters who threw objects at him until he took refuge inside a nearby fast food store. The newly named Minister of Justice, Delia Muñoz, described calls for protests as "propaganda" while new Minister of Labor Juan Sheput falsely said "the protests are waning" and told the public that businesses would be hurt by the protests.
Protests occurred in the major cities of Peru, including Arequipa, Chiclayo, Chimbote, Cuzco, Huaraz, Iquitos, Lima, Tacna, Trujillo and Tumbes. In Cuzco, at least 18,000 people gathered in the city square where dancers and bands performed among the crowds. Merino's home state of Tumbes saw more than a thousand protestors against his government. Protesters in Tacna demanded a radical change in what they described as a neoliberal Constitution and expressed their rejection of the government of Manuel Merino.
In Lima, the large crowds overwhelmed police who began to indiscriminately disperse tear gas at protesters. In an incident caught on video, an alleged undercover TERNA agent of the National Police of Peru fires his weapon into the air to repel protesters who were following him.
Popular Action congressman Hans Troyes revealed that representatives from his party were under pressure from its alternate spokesman, Ricardo Burga, to vote in favor of Vizcarra's removal under threat of not having certain projects they favored processed.
13 November
Merino's prime minister, Ántero Flores Aráoz, thanked the National Police for their response to protests stating "I thank you for always proceeding in compliance with human rights and protocol, logically avoiding harm, but reacting when you have to react."