LIMA, (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters in Peru, many from the country’s heavily indigenous south, descended on the capital Lima on Thursday, angered by the rising death toll since unrest erupted last month and calling for sweeping changes.
Police estimated the march at about 3,500 people, but others speculated it drew more than double that.
Lines of police in riot gear faced rock-throwing protesters on some streets, and a historic building in the city’s historic center caught fire late Thursday.
The building at San Martin Plaza was empty when the massive fire ignited for unknown reasons, a fire department commander told local radio.
Canada-based miner Hudbay said in a statement that protesters entered the premises of his Peruvian unit, damaging and burning vital machinery and vehicles.
Interior Minister Vicente Romero denied claims circulating on social media that the fire in Lima was caused by a police officer’s tear gas grenade.
Over the past month, violent and sometimes deadly protests have fueled the worst violence Peru has seen in more than two decades, as many in poorer, rural regions vent their anger at the Lima establishment over inequality and rising prices and the copper-rich Andes the test is set by the nation’s democratic institutions.
The demonstrators are demanding Boluarte’s resignation, early elections and a new constitution to replace the pro-market constitution of right-wing strongman Alberto Fujimori in the 1990s.
“We want the usurper Dina Boluarte to resign and call for new elections,” said protester Jose De la Rosa, predicting that the street protests would only continue.
The protests were sparked by the dramatic ouster of leftist former President Pedro Castillo on December 7 after he tried to illegally shut down Congress and consolidate power.
Thousands traveled to Lima in buses and on foot on Thursday, carrying flags and banners blasting the government and police over deadly clashes in the southern cities of Ayacucho and Juliaca.
The rising death toll stands at 45, according to the government ombudsman, with the latest victim on Thursday from the southern Puno region, a woman who succumbed to injuries a day earlier. Another nine deaths are attributed to accidents related to protest blockades.
Police had increased surveillance on the roads leading to Lima, and political leaders called for calm.
Last week, the embattled Boluarte government extended the state of emergency in Lima and the southern regions of Puno and Cusco, cutting some civil rights.