Thousands of people took to the streets of the Peruvian capital Lima in a peaceful protest against the new government and new president Dina Boluarte, after weeks of bloody clashes sparked by the ouster of former president Pedro Castillo that left at least 42 dead, Reuters reports, Agerpres reads.

„Why are you turning your back on the people, there are so many dead, for God’s sake, stop this massacre,” said protester Olga Espejo, asking President Dina Boluarte, formerly Castillo’s vice president, to resign.

„Ms. Boluarte, they are using you,” she added.

Protesters shouted „Dina assassination!” as they carried cardboard coffins, photographs of the victims and shouted anti-government slogans in the streets of Lima, in the first mass protest in the capital since the New Year.

The march, organized by trade unions and left-wing groups, took place without incident.

The clashes that have been taking place since the beginning of December are the worst violence in Peru in over 20 years.

While Thursday’s protest was underway, Labor Minister Eduardo Garcia announced his resignation on Twitter, saying the population must be asked for forgiveness for the dead and inviting the government to admit that „mistakes were made that must be corrected”. Garcia also stated that the situation cannot wait until April 2024, when elections were proposed, two years earlier than it should.

The crisis has touched tourism hub Cuzco, which closed its airport again on Thursday, as well as the country’s key mining sector, with a major copper mine under attack and another tin mine closed in solidarity with the dead.

Prime Minister Alberto Otarola said Thursday that Boluarte will not resign, citing constitutional requirements to consolidate the succession, „not because she doesn’t want to.”

„Leaving the presidency would open very dangerous doors for anarchy and disorder,” he said.

Peru’s chief prosecutor’s office launched an investigation on Tuesday against Boluarte and other important ministers.

On the same day, Peru’s Congress – which fiercely opposed former leftist leader Castillo – gave a vote of confidence to the new government.

Agerpres