LETTER FROM CUZCO

Deployment of the army in several districts around the country, repeated calls from city councilors to imitate the "Bukele method" (Nayib Bukele is the Salvadoran president whose supporters approve of his hard way of fighting gangs, despite human rights violations), proposed laws for the creation of the notion of "urban terrorism." In recent weeks, the support to adopt an all-out security approach has been gaining ground in Peru.

On September 18, the interim government of Dina Boluarte – vulnerable with 80% of the population demanding her departure – declared a state of emergency in three districts. More than 500 military personnel have been deployed on the streets as backup for police forces to "combat criminal behavior and organized crime." The areas concerned are two of Lima's most densely populated districts: San Juan de Lurigancho, to the east of the capital, with a population of over 1 million, and San Martin de Porres, to the north, as well as the district of Sullana, in the Piura region, in the north of the country. On Thursday, October 5, the head of state announced the extension of this measure to the historic center of the capital.

The government's action has been presented as a response to repeated requests from mayors claiming to be overwhelmed by a "crime wave," with increasingly violent methods, including armed robbery, extortion and kidnapping. Shopkeepers in certain districts of Lima complain of being forced to pay cupos, a percentage of their profits, to mafias, in the face of death threats. The use of sicariato (hitman) is booming. It "has jumped by 300% in recent years in the district," claimed Hernan Sifuentes, mayor of San Martin de Porres, on the Reuters video channel on September 20. According to the police, 186 of these murders have been reported in Lima between January and July 2023, a number that is constantly growing.

On September 20, hundreds of people marched through the capital to demand more security. On the signs were the slogans: "Nos están matando, Militares a las calles ['They're killing us, military in the streets']." A few days earlier, a grenade exploded outside a San Juan de Lurigancho nightclub in connection with an alleged extortion case, injuring several people.

Insecurity is now one of the main concerns for Peruvians, according to opinion polls, alongside corruption and inflation. Some 80% of those surveyed feel unsafe in the country's major cities, particularly Lima, home to 10 million of Peru's 33 million residents.

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