Relatives mourn victims one month after the deadliest clashes in anti-government protests against Peru鈥檚 President Dina Boluarte, in Juliaca, Peru February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares
JULIACA, Peru 鈥� Thousands of demonstrators marched through Peru鈥檚 southern city of Juliaca on Thursday to commemorate the one-month anniversary of clashes that left 19 people dead in the city, the worst violence in over two months of anti-government protests.
Family members and protesters amassed under an overpass for a memorial to the victims after marching past concrete road barriers still pockmarked with bullet holes and the shuttered airport guarded by soldiers and police.
The town in the Andean region of Puno has been rocked by protests since the Dec. 7 ouster of leftist President Pedro Castillo. Clashes on Jan. 9 left 18 dead, including one police officer. Another protester died days later.
The violence was the single deadliest day in the protests that themselves mark the worst unrest Peru has seen in over 20 years, posing an immense challenge to the new government in Lima and threatening mining operations in the world鈥檚 no. 2 copper producer.
On Thursday, as families mourned the dead, some protesters in other cities joined calls for a wider national strike. Military aircraft occasionally flew overhead as the ceremony commemorating the victims took place.
鈥淭he Puno region really came out in support, we鈥檙e not one, we鈥檙e many,鈥� said Ruth Meza, who said her classmate Elmer Solano was killed in the Juliaca clashes.
Peru鈥檚 southern Andes, the focal point of the protests, is home to the famous Incan ruined city of Machu Picchu and huge reserves of copper, but lags behind much of the country in education, health and income levels.
The jailed Castillo, a former teacher and union leader, retains support among many such communities, who are demanding constitutional change and an overhaul of Congress, as well as his release.
Mass for protest dead
Luis Zambrano, a priest who conducted a mass for family members on Wednesday, said that while protesters were sometimes violent, he believed authorities reacted with too much force.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 come to calm the waters,鈥� he said.
During Zambrano鈥檚 mass, a display table with photos of those who died in the protests quickly overflowed and had to be rearranged as more family members arrived, with crowds spilling out of the church.
Family members of those who lost their lives met with lawyers and the local ombudsman after the mass. They said they wanted to seek justice from a government which had done little to aid them.
Nivardo Enriquez, the ombudsman, said his office was working with the local prosecutor to provide evidence, testimonies and autopsy reports.
鈥�(The prosecutor鈥檚 office) is doing its job,鈥� Enriquez said. 鈥淎nd we hope it鈥檚 being done with the corresponding speed.鈥�
Dionisio Aroquipa told Reuters his 17-year-old daughter Jhamileth Nataly had been killed in the protests. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the details of his account.
鈥淭hose who were protesting have been caught, they鈥檝e been investigated. But for the deaths? There鈥檚 practically no justice,鈥� said Aroquipa.
He said his daughter, a psychology student in Bolivia, volunteered at an animal charity and hoped to travel to Brazil and Argentina.
鈥淪he had dreams,鈥� Aroquipa said. 鈥淏ut when it comes to investigation into what happened to my daughter, you don鈥檛 see any progress.鈥�