By: Socialist Alternative Peru

The country is going through one of its worst political and social crises. The presidential vacancy of Dina Boluarte due to ”permanent moral incapacity” does not represent a complete victory of the people, but a maneuver of the regime to recompose itself in the midst of the general collapse. The transport strikes, the shooting at the Seawater concert and the unstoppable increase in extortions and murders have exposed the government as incapable of guaranteeing either security or life. Violence, corruption and fear have become a daily part of Peru.

In this scenario, the same parties that shielded Dina, Fuerza Popular, Alianza para el Progreso, Avanza País, among others, promoted four vacancy motions. Not out of democratic conviction or out of empathy with the victims of this regime, but out of political calculation Let’s not forget that thanks to them Dina was able to stay in power for so long. Let’s not forget that, during her term, more than 50 people were killed by state repression: farmers, students, women, young people from poor neighborhoods. These crimes remain unpunished, and today those responsible, congressmen, ministers, parties and the armed forces, continue to hold positions and distribute shares of power.

The fact that José Jeri, who has been accused of sexual assault, is now president not only is a moral affront to the people, but a cynical demonstration of the misogynistic, patriarchal and rotten nature of this state. It is an insult to the thousands of women who came out to march against sexist violence, to the victims of abuse who never found justice, and to the entire feminist movement that has been one of the pillars of popular resistance. This appointment starkly reflects that the Congress, dominated by ultra-conservative, Fujimorist and neoliberal sectors, is not looking for stability or justice: it is looking for impunity and control.

Nor can it go unnoticed that Fernando Rospigliosi, former interior minister and longtime operator of the repressive apparatuses, has assumed the Interim Presidency of the Congress. Rospigliosi, a symbol of authoritarianism and the persecution of social movements, represents the continuity of the police state model that has been consolidated since the fall of Castillo. Under his command, an escalation of repression, censorship and criminalization of protest can be foreseen. His presence is not accidental: it is a warning from the regime to the people, an attempt to discipline with gases, pellets and prisons those who dare to challenge the established order.

However, history shows that repression does not stop the struggle, it multiplies it. And that is already underway. For Wednesday, October 15th, Gen Z, together with university students, grassroots unions, popular organizations and various collectives, have called for a National Strike that promises to become a turning point in the mass struggle. The youth, who already starred in the mobilizations of September, reignites the spark of resistance. This is not just a protest against the new illegitimate government, but a rebellion against the entire regime, against corruption, authoritarianism and the systematic abandonment of working people.

To this wave of mobilization is added the Sacrificial March of the mayor of Pataz, who travels kilometers along with hundreds of villagers to demand attention in the face of abandonment, organized crime violence and mining predation. His walk, full of dignity, synthesizes the national drama: while the Andean peoples are suffocated by poverty and mafias, in Lima the same corrupt people as always share power. This convergence between local struggles and the national mobilization of youth can open a scenario of breaking with passivity and fear.

Neither Dina nor Jerí: out with all of them

This vacancy was not against crime or impunity. It was a maneuver of the system itself to rearrange its power, to continue governing under the same rules of the regime of ’93, the one that imposes inequality, precariousness and plunder. The parties that sacked Dina yesterday do not represent the people: they represent the economic groups, the military with impunity, the businessmen who profit from fear.

Therefore, it is not enough to be outraged. It is not enough to say “out with all of them” if we do not also organize a force from below that makes it possible. The way out will not come from that Congress or from new rigged elections. It will come from unity in action: from the trade unions, from women’s organizations, from the youth, from the peoples who resisted the repression and are still standing.

The country can’t take it anymore. Every day that passes under this regime is another day of death, corruption and misery. That is why we are calling for a general strike on October 15th: only with mobilization, organization and unity of the struggles will we be able to break this system. May fear change sides, may the people once again be the protagonist of their destiny.

Peru free of corruption, murderers and oppressors!

For the unity of workers, youth and peoples to conquer a new society!

General strike on October 15!