Peru has declared a month-long state of emergency to allow the armed forces to oversee its highways as President δρο Pedro Castillo’s government seeks to quell nationwide protests over rising fuel and food prices. Hundreds of truckers and farm workers have been blocking roads across the country for more than a week because of their anger over rising costs, which has erupted since Russia invaded Ukraine. The decree, published in the official gazette on Thursday, allows the army to deploy to clear the blockades, while suspending certain constitutional rights such as freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. “The police will maintain control of the internal order, with the help of the armed forces,” he said. Clashes between protesters and police in Ika, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of the capital, Lima, left a farmer dead and 15 people injured, mostly police. Protests against rising costs continue in the Peruvian capital, Lima [Alessandro Cinque/Reuters] The Castillo government has faced growing public outrage over the crisis, especially after imposing a mandatory 24-hour lockdown in Lima and a neighboring port city earlier this week in a bid to “restore peace”. The left-wing president, who was sworn in in July last year, stepped down after opposition politicians and human rights groups criticized it as a “disproportionate” violation of freedom of movement. Thousands took to the streets in protest before Castillo halted the lockdown on Tuesday afternoon, urging Peruvians to “remain calm”. The government reduced fuel taxes, raised the minimum wage and proposed a basic food tax exemption on sales. The episode marks the first time in the eight months of Castillo’s rule that he faced a social protest movement. It comes as the president has seen his approval ratings fall to 19%, a record low, according to a Datum poll released on Thursday. He recently survived a second ouster in less than a year.
