Demonstration for Democracy

 

While eating at the Morena Peruvian Kitchen located on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru, our table heard loud shouts and honks coming from right outside the window. To our surprise, we saw a large group, carrying a large Peruvian flag banner, participating in a protest against the current presidential administration. As you can see by the photo I took, which reads "Castillo is not my president, he is a delinquent" in English (it rhymes pretty cleverly in Spanish), there are many that are upset by the current president and his government. 

The marchers were marching for democracy, but even more so they were marching against communism and the leftist ideology that President Castillo practices. Peru's leftward drift, as we have learned in class, starting with the dictator Juan Velasco Alvarado in 1968. Ever since then, as Professor Falconí explained, Peru has had leftist governments with much instability, causing the sentiment shared among this group. 

I myself call myself a leftist, but this demonstration had me questioning my own beliefs. Obviously, there are tangible and coherent reasons behind this group's sentiments and actual problems that still occur in Peru. On the other hand, however, I recognize that the group seemed to be mostly coming from the middle class and I cannot imagine that many of the much-poorer Peruvians, such as many in the Indigenous population, share similar views with them. All in all, it was interesting to see the police in riot gear, although the protest was completely peaceful. This demonstration allowed myself for a more nuanced view of Peruvian politics and has encouraged me to learn more about Peruvian history and society.