Peru street protests coordinated on social media by hundreds of decentralized organisations

On November 9, 2020, after a year of escalating tensions, Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra was impeached on the grounds of "moral incapacity" by lawmakers threatened by his anti-corruption investigations and the policy reform he led. The street protests that followed all over the country were coordinated via Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and TikTok (#MerinoNoMeRepresenta) by hundreds of newly-created small, decentralised organisations. The march on November 14 is thought to be the largest in Peruvian history. In Lima, protesters claimed the police used helicopters to tear gas the crowds, fired rubber bullets, and made arbitrary arrests. Two students were killed, and hundreds of protesters were injured. On November 17, interim president Manuel Merino, his cabinet, and the Congress' board of directors quit. The protests continued with new goals, such as better infrastructure and working conditions for health care workers in the pandemic.

https://nacla.org/news/2020/11/19/new-era-protest-rocks-peru

Writer: Verónica Hurtado Lozada

Publication: Nacla