Dina Boluarte asks legislators to approve early elections for Peru soon

The president of peruDina Boluarte, called on Congress to approve “as soon as possible” a preview of the general elections, in the midst of the strong pressure generated after the worst wave of protests in at least two decades in the Andean country.

Boluarte, in a speech at a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS), emphasized the need to establish dialogues to put an end to the turbulence in Peru, where more than 50 people have died due to clashes with the police and roadblocks and mining sites in recent weeks.

The Peruvian Congress must still give its final consent to advance the elections to 2024, after the crisis that broke out due to the removal of the former leftist president Pedro Castillowho illegally sought to dissolve the legislature and reorganize the judiciary.

In her speech before the OAS, Boluarte -formerly Castillo’s vice president- called for “peace, dialogue and democracy” as the way to resolve the political crisis that Peru is going through, where it is estimated more than 1,000 million dollars between damages and production losses.

The OAS on Wednesday expressed its full support for the Boluarte presidency, who is facing strong calls to resign.

The protesters are also calling for early elections to be held immediately, not two years from now, and for the release of Castillo, a former ruler who has broad support from impoverished southern regions of the country.

Castillo, who tried to dissolve Congress in December while facing impeachment on charges of incapacity to govern and abuse of power, is now detained on charges of “rebellion.”

Unrest in Peru, the world’s second-biggest copper producer, has closed airports in major inland cities and threatens to disrupt work at key mining deposits.