Peruvian Senator Edgar Mancha has called for a new congressional review to strip parliamentary protection from former President Dina Boluarte over protest deaths in the country's southern regions.
Speaking on radio network RPP, the lawmaker for the southern department of Puno said political sanctions must be imposed on Boluarte, her former prime minister Alberto Otarola, and senior security commanders following anti-government demonstrations in 2022 and 2023.
Mancha spoke after lawmakers presented a proposal to set up a congressional investigating commission to examine human rights abuses and law enforcement excesses during the social unrest. He said establishing clear official responsibility for deaths caused during the demonstrations was essential.
Boluarte assumed the presidency of Peru in December 2022 following the impeachment and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo. Her administration faced months of widespread street protests, particularly in the impoverished southern highlands, where clashes between security forces and demonstrators resulted in dozens of civilian fatalities.
Call for political accountability
Mancha explained that regions across southern Peru, including Puno, Ayacucho, Apurimac, and Cusco, continue to demand judicial answers. He added that the public outrage remains deeply felt across Huancavelica, Moquegua, and the high-altitude areas of Arequipa.
According to the senator, security forces, including both the national police and the army, committed serious abuses during the crackdown. He noted that grief among victims' families is compounded by a long history of government neglect in providing basic public services and infrastructure across the southern Andes.
Puno is a high-altitude Andean region bordering Bolivia that saw some of the deadliest clashes during the 2022 and 2023 demonstrations. Mancha represents the conservative Popular Renewal party, known locally as Renovacion Popular, which holds seats in Peru's newly restored bicameral legislature.
Interference in judicial probes
Addressing the role of prosecutors and top officials during that period, Mancha stated that Boluarte's administration actively interfered with the Attorney General's Office. He said the previous government placed obstacles in the way of independent judicial investigations into the killings.
While criminal courts must identify and try the direct perpetrators of violence on the ground, Mancha stressed that legal and political accountability must extend to the Executive leaders who directed the government at the time.
The senator acknowledged that previous constitutional complaints filed against Boluarte were archived by the former single-chamber Congress, a decision supported at the time by members of his own party. Mancha described that outcome as very unfortunate and expressed support for reopening the cases.
He added that if the newly established Chamber of Deputies and Senate decide to re-evaluate Boluarte's parliamentary immunity, he would support the move as a necessary step toward achieving national reconciliation with the southern Andean population.
