Because of unrest in Peru: Hundreds of tourists are stuck at Machu Picchu

Status: 15.12.2022 09:20 a.m

Protests against the removal of the incumbent president continue in Peru. Because of the increasing violence, there is a nationwide state of emergency – and the situation in the country now also has consequences for tourists at Machu Picchu.

Hundreds of foreign tourists are stranded at the world-famous Inca site of Machu Picchu because of the unrest in Peru. Around 800 people were affected, the authorities said.

The railway line between the World Heritage Site and the city of Cusco had previously been closed due to violent protests against the dismissal and arrest of left-wing President Pedro Castillo. The railway line, which is a hundred kilometers long, is the easiest and most frequently used route to get to or from Machu Picchu.

The reason for the blocking was given by the PeruRail state railway on Tuesday as safety concerns and referred to calls for demonstrations by various organizations in Cusco.

The ruined city of Machu Picchu is world famous. The Incas built it in the 15th century.

Image: picture alliance/dpa

State of emergency

In view of the ongoing violent protests, the government had previously declared a nationwide state of emergency. This is valid for 30 days, as Defense Minister Luis Alberto Otárola said. The police will maintain internal order with the support of the armed forces.

Otárola said the state of emergency gives the military additional powers to work with the police to protect strategic infrastructure, private property and the security of all Peruvians. The right of assembly and freedom of movement are suspended. The government has not yet decided whether there will be a curfew.

The new President Dina Boluarte called for calm. “Peru must not be covered in blood,” she said. “We went through that experience back in the 1980s and ’90s and I don’t think we want to go back to that painful past.” At that time, several rebel groups had made Peru unsafe.

Boluarte hints at earlier elections

In an effort to calm the tense situation, she hinted that the presidential and parliamentary elections would even be brought forward to December 2023. In view of the protests, Boluarte initially said he wanted early elections in April 2024 instead of the regular date of 2026.

With the dissolution of the congress, the left-wing politician Castillo wanted to forestall a vote of no confidence in parliament. Both his cabinet and the opposition accused him of a coup d’etat, which is why the former village school teacher was removed from office and arrested on Wednesday last week.

As a result, demonstrators blocked highways in several parts of the country. Both in the capital Lima and in the south and south-east of the Andean country, where Castillo has a particularly large number of supporters in rural areas, there have been violent protests and clashes between demonstrators and police officers in recent days. Thousands of people demanded the resignation of Castillo’s successor Boluarte.

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