Anti-government protests erupted after Dina Boluarte was sworn in as Peru's president in early December. Now, just over a month after her inauguration, the police response to protests has led to the deaths of more than 40 people, with hundreds injured.

Boluarte, the former vice president, came to power when President Pedro Castillo, elected in June 2021, announced plans to dissolve Congress, but was then arrested on charges of attempting a coup. This, in turn, sparked broad unrest in the country. At least 17 people were killed, including a police officer, in Juliaca on Monday.

The public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into Boluarte, Prime Minister Alberto Otarola and other Cabinet members on suspicion of crimes of genocide and aggravated homicide and bodily injuries. This is the second such investigation into Boluarte's actions because of protest-related deaths. Otarola said security forces had "maintained public order in this state of emergency." He also said the government was not acting in an authoritarian fashion and would not be blackmailed by violence.

'Security forces are acting inappropriately and disproportionately'
Johanna Pieper, a researcher at Hamburg's GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies, told DW that "security forces are not heeding the law."

Raul Tecco, of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Lima, offered a similar opinion. "Security forces are acting inappropriately and disproportionately," Tecco said. He blames officials for the conduct of the security forces. "A soldier will not open fire without backing from his superior," he said. Robert Helbig, who heads the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's office in Peru, said the people responsible for the turmoil must be identified and brought to justice to prevent a climate of lawlessness.

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