Alberto Otarola: “What seemed to be a national violence was limited to a march in Lima”

Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Alberto Otarola, in a newspaper interview Tradespoke about the current situation of citizens’ protests against Congress and the government, which began on December 7th.

Due to this prime minister He claimed that the protests were limited “politically and by the media” to marches in the capital such as the self-proclaimed “The Capture of Lima” from the last 28 January.

“Little by little, we cornered them politically and medially, and this was clearly demonstrated on the day of the famous “Capture of Lima‘. The whole country saw how many there were, who they were and how they acted,” he said.

He also pointed out that the process, “which seemed to be violence on a national scale”, eventually came down to days of protest in Lima.

“The process that began throughout the country, with the seizure of airports, the death of compatriots, the destruction of public places, looting; what seemed to be a nationwide violence, little by little came down to what was actually: ended with a march in Lima with about 12,000 people, a third of whom were highly organized and brutal, and the country watched them attack on live television to the police,” he said.

In this sense, he believed that Government He made “relevant decisions” and that the protests would remain on the scale of the last days and that then “it would decline.”

“The President said that the situation in Lime was under control and that we were running a nationwide police operation with clear and specific goals (…) What do we see now? We see a plateau, we consulted with experts in the sense that it will persist for some time and will decrease,” he explained.

The prime minister also named the reasons why, in his opinion, the scale of the protests will decrease.

“I think that (…) there were three factors: a well-fed population; the reaction of civil society itself, which saw that the country could not continue in this violent spiral; and thirdly, it seems to me that there were problems between them,” he stressed.

“Special” situation in Puno

Regarding the situation in Fistwhere the control of internal order is entrusted to the Armed Forces, Otarola Penaranda He pointed out that there is a “special situation” in the said region, as illegal mining can “support” “small aggressive groups.”

“There’s a lot of impunity for exporting illegal gold, partly an illegal economy that took advantage of this situation to bring illegal gold into Bolivian, a lot of gold. As we speak, trucks of gold are leaving Puno for Bolivia (…) There has been a very porous transfer of gold and dollars, and this economy is what can keep these organized groups, which in turn can keep small aggressive groups . . But the people of Puno overwhelmingly want a return to calm,” he said.

Given this, he believed that the military should “take control of the territory” and protect “critical assets”.

“We must take territorial control. The military is not going to enter for reprisals, they will enter to protect critical facilities. The border post has already been restored, we are going to quickly restore the burnt police stations,” he said.

In addition, the owner PKM He considered that the most unfortunate part of the situation was the dead, and noted that the public ministry was already investigating the facts.

“The most unfortunate thing in all this is the dead, which caused a lot of pain and horror in the state. We quickly created a commission that involved various institutions, and as a result, financial assistance to the families of the victims was approved and humanitarian assistance was provided,” he stressed.

“Specifically in relation to the deceased, the public ministry is doing its job, and this is what corresponds. In all governments, circumstances occur that, we hope, are understood in their real context,” he added.

“The real person responsible for all this is Pedro Castillo.”

In the same way, the prime minister considered that the former president was responsible for the whole situation that has developed in the country since December last year. Pedro Castillo.

“The real person responsible for all of this goes by the name and surname, Pedro Castillo, and is currently a tenant in Barbadillo. Everything was prioritized, provoked and encouraged Lock”, kept.

As for the political responsibility that ministers of state can bear in the deaths of people during the protests, the prime minister indicated that they are “forbidden to interfere in operations.”

“What has been ordered is a state of emergency, and according to the current regulations and the Constitution, the ministers exercise political control over events, they are prohibited from interfering in operations. That would be a usurpation of functions,” he said.

“What I can assure you is that the government has given every guarantee and opportunity to the state ministry so that it can do its job and find out the truth,” he added.

Finally, the prime minister once again ruled out a possible resignation from the post of president of the republic.

“We are not going to impose any power of the state, we respect the Constitution. It says that the executive branch should lead the country. We are doing this, we are not going on autopilot,” he said.