Lima (EFE).- Relatives of the victims of the late 2022 and 2023 anti-government protests in Peru rejected the virtual victory of right-wing Keiko Fujimori in the presidential elections, asserting that, in addition to being the «daughter of a dictator,» she has shielded those responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.
The Association of Martyrs and Victims of the 2022 and 2023 protests, representing the 49 dead and the dozens of wounded from the protests that rejected former President Dina Boluarte (2022-2025) demanding the release of former President Pedro Castillo (2020-2021), held a sit-in on Tuesday in front of the Palace of Justice.
«We are not going to accept a government by the daughter of a dictator,» said the organization’s main spokesperson, Milagros Samillán, whose brother was killed in the southern town of Juliaca while aiding the wounded during a protest.
Samillán explained that, since the massacres occurred three years ago, they have marched in search of justice, and that Fujimori’s party shielded Boluarte and those who were ministers at the time of the repression.
She pointed out that, from Congress, Fujimori’s movement has promoted laws seeking impunity for the police and military personnel responsible for the deaths of their relatives.
Alongside photographs of the faces of those who died in demonstrations in Ayacucho, Apurímac, Juliaca, Junín, and Macusani, the relatives stated that Fujimori, the daughter and political heir of former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), does not represent them and that, in southern Peru, the one who won «overwhelmingly» is Sánchez.
«We have been walking the streets for three years, and we are not going to stop. We will confront a dictatorial government, we will come to the capital as many times as we have to come to say no more impunity, no more shielding of those responsible for the murders and massacres experienced in our regions,» Samillán said.
The association maintains that Fujimori’s eventual arrival at power will mean a setback for human rights throughout the country, and recalled that there are still victims of crimes committed under the mandate of Alberto Fujimori who have not found justice.
Furthermore, the organization maintained that the electoral process has been plagued by irregularities in the counting of votes abroad, where the right-winger won, and that Fujimori’s government will be «illegitimate.»
In this regard, they demanded explanations as to why, in the second round, the foreign vote was not digitized as it was in the first round, and «the rules were changed at the last minute,» creating «distrust among the people.»
«We hold Keiko responsible for whatever happens in the streets because we know what the Fujimorista past was like and also how she has acted in the present with pro-crime laws and the shielding of those responsible,» Samillán said, announcing that social groups, student groups, and other movements are going to organize to confront the next government.
The association stated that they are not «terrorists for demanding justice,» but rather Peruvian families whose loved ones’ lives have been taken away.
With 99% of the votes counted, Fujimori maintains a narrow margin of barely 30,000 votes over Sánchez. Most of the tallies pending to be counted are from the capital, Lima, where she beat her rival by a wide majority. EFE
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