The interim government of Peru prepares a state of emergency in Lima in the face of the violence crisis

The interim Government of Peru is preparing to declare a state of emergency in the metropolitan area of ​​Lima, citing the increase in crime in the city. This was announced on Thursday night by the president of the Council of Ministers, Ernesto Álvarez, appointed this week by the transitional president, José Jerí. The measure will also be accompanied, as indicated, by a package of actions aimed at reinforcing citizen security.

Álvarez, from the Government Palace and accompanied by other ministers, assured that this is not a merely rhetorical decision: “We are going to announce the Government’s decision to declare an emergency, at least Metropolitan Lima, but this, unlike other occasions, cannot be simply an ethereal, subjective declaration that does not serve the common citizen. It has to be accompanied by a package of concrete and effective measures.”

The measure, in any case, has not yet been made official this Friday morning. The minister explained that they must analyze what other resources they are going to implement. “The President of the Republic has entrusted us with preparing this package of measures, submitting it to technical debate, in the shortest possible time. For this reason, the ministers are in permanent session,” he said.

This measure, when formalized, will affect more than 10 million people living in Lima. With this, the Government is empowered to send the military to the streets to patrol. During this period, constitutional rights such as the inviolability of the home, freedom of movement, assembly and personal security may also be restricted. The decision has been widely criticized by citizens, since this is not the first time that a Government declares a state of emergency to combat insecurity. None has had a greater effect.

In recent days, murders on public roads have not stopped. The same night that the Cabinet issued this statement, in the district of Lurín, south of Lima, a public transport bus was intercepted and attacked with bullets. The driver and the conductor died right there. Some passengers were also injured. For this reason, this Friday, the transporters have decided to do a symbolic engine shutdown, lasting three minutes, in honor of the victims.

In that sense, Álvarez did not rule out that one of the measures is to establish a curfew. “The curfew, as well as the limitation of the individual freedom of motorcyclists, are already recurring measures that have been established before, but which, due to the specificity of violent crime, have not always achieved an effective, real result,” he said. And he added: “Any measure that limits freedom must have proportionality and rationality. That is why we are going to take a few hours to review and measure the possible effectiveness of the emergency declaration,” he emphasized.

This measure also comes the day after the national march on October 15 that took place in different cities in Peru. In Lima, the march had serious episodes of violence, one ended with the murder of a young man by a police officer; In addition, more than one hundred people were injured. This situation has generated even more discontent among citizens, who, the day after the death of Eduardo Ruiz, an artist from the music scene, hip hop limeño, they held a vigil where he was murdered. From the Executive, they have criticized the attitude of the protesters and have defended the actions of the police officers during the demonstration.

The Constitutional Court (TC) of Peru has ruled on states of emergency on previous occasions. He indicated that this measure should be understood as an extreme and temporary mechanism, as well as a last resort.