Sharjah24 - AFP: In spite of opposition to President Dina Boluarte moving toward the city ahead of a sizable protest on Monday, the latest in weeks of violent turmoil, Lima and other provinces of Peru were still under a renewed state of emergency.
At least 42 people have died, according to Peru's human rights ombudsman, in five weeks of clashes at burning roadblocks and other flashpoints to demand fresh elections and Boluarte's resignation.
She took over on December 7 as the South American country's first woman president following the impeachment and arrest of leftist Pedro Castillo for his failed bid to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
On Sunday some 3,000 protesters in Andahuaylas in southeastern Peru began boarding trucks and buses bound for the demonstration in Lima, RPP radio reported.
The government extended by 30 days a state of emergency from midnight Saturday for Lima, Cusco, Callao and Puno, authorizing the military to back up police actions to restore public order.
The state of emergency also suspended constitutional rights such as freedom of movement and assembly, according to a decree published in the official gazette.
In protest epicenter Puno, the government declared a new night-time curfew for 10 days, from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am.
Dozens of demonstrators had arrived in Lima's Miraflores district late Saturday as part of a mobilization for what they called a "takeover of the city."
Almost 100 stretches of road remained blockaded Sunday in 10 of Peru's 25 regions -- a record, according to a senior land transport official.
Castillo, a former rural school teacher and union leader, faced vehement opposition from Congress during his 18 months in office and is the subject of numerous criminal investigations into allegations of widespread graft.
His ouster sparked immediate nationwide protests, mainly among the rural poor, that petered out over the holiday period but resumed on January 4.
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