Thousands rally against Keiko Fujimori ahead of presidential run-off

Lima, Jun 1 (EFE).- Thousands of people in Peru marched through the historic center of Lima on Tuesday to oppose the presidential candidacy of right-wing Keiko Fujimori.

The march, convened by civil and social groups, took place peacefully through the main streets of the capital.

It began in Plaza San Martín, where citizens gathered to express their opposition to the possibility that Fujimori could be elected the country’s president in the run-off against leftist Pedro Castillo on Sunday.

“Here, there, Keiko won’t do,” said most of the slogans, banners and placards that the demonstrators chanted and carried during the march, along with the national flag and those of social organizations and trade unions.

Demonstrators leading the march also carried a huge Peruvian flag as they marched through the Nicolás de Piérola, Garcilaso, Grau, Abancay avenues and returned towards Plaza San Martín through Nicolás de Piérola.

Artist collectives with bass drums and percussion instruments also took part in the march along with “sikuri” ensembles, consisting of siku players with wind instruments that are similar to pan flutes.

Also among the attendees were university students and families of the victims of the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres, for which former president Alberto Fujimori, Keiko’s father, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

“Those of us who have lived through the first Fujimorist government know that it is more of the same, against citizens and workers,” said a 63-year-old woman, who joined the demonstration despite the risk posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many of the demonstrators recalled the network of corruption that was set up during the regime of Alberto Fujimori, led by his adviser Vladimiro Montesinos, and expressed concerns that the corruption structure that he left behind would return at the highest levels.

Other participants openly expressed their preference for Pedro Castillo, saying that his election would mean “a change” for the country, badly hit by a health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Demonstrations against Keiko Fujimori were also convened in other major regions of the country including Cusco, Tacna, Áncash, Ayacucho, Piura, ICA, Huancavelica, Apurímac, Puno and Lambayeque, where numerous people gathered, according to local media reports. EFE

dub/pd/tw