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President ends Lima lockdown — Analysis

Immediately after a meeting with congressional leaders on Tuesday, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo lifted the curfew he had imposed on Lima in an attempt to curb violent protests over the country’s high levels of inflation.

“I must announce that from this moment on we are going to cancel the curfew order. We now call on the Peruvian people to keep calm,”After meeting with Congress, the Peruvian leader stated.

The lockdown was supposed to last till Wednesday but had been lifted earlier as many lawmakers expressed their concerns that the measure violated the fundamental rights of Lima’s residents.

However, violent protests continue to shake the Peruvian capital, with demonstrators attacking police officers. Following rioters setting fire to an administrative building, police used teargas on the protestors. Peru’s Interior Minister Alfonso Chavarry has ordered the use of force to prevent further violence.

Legislators vote on Peruvian president’s fate

Farmers were outraged at the increasing cost of fertilizer and fuel, which led to the initiation of protests a week earlier. The protests escalated as thousands of Peruvians took to the streets in anger at their poor living conditions.

Lima’s consumer price index rose nearly 7 percent in March. This is the largest inflation rate since 1998.

Just after President Castillo was narrowly evaded impeachment, the political crisis follows. The right-wing opposition charged him with corruption and moral incapacity. Political turbulence in Lima has hindered the Peruvian leader’s ability to deliver on his social reforms promise and forced him to swear in four different cabinets, with one prime minister lasting just three days in the job.

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