Once again, the streets of Downtown Lima were the scene of a march in which various organizations and sectors of society expressed their stance contrary to the Executive and Legislative Branches, and which ended following the detention of some 20 people.
At 3:00 p.m. (local time) various groups of demonstrators began to arrive at Plaza 2 de Mayo (May 2nd Roundabout) —mostly from the northern districts of the Peruvian capital.
From there, they started to walk along Avenida Alfonso Ugarte (Alfonso Ugarte Avenue) towards Plaza Bolognesi (Bolognesi Roundabout).
The protesters were prevented from entering that area of the city —where Downtown Lima and Breña district converge— because a fairly large contingent of police agents kept a tight fence in force.
The mobilization —called The March of the Cones— continued along Paseo Colon Avenue and then up Paseo de los Heroes Navales public park.
Meanwhile, another large group of citizens advanced down Avenida Grau (Grau Avenue) and surrounding streets —coming from the south of the capital.
They were joined by another group that had gathered around Plaza San Martin (San Martin Square). A few meters from that site, at the intersection of Quilca and Carabaya Streets, an open-air rock music concert was held —motivated by the political situation.
New clashes
Several of the contingents of protesters converged in the area comprising Jiron Lampa (Lampa Street) and Parque Universitario (University Park), where several fences made up of police officers were located, thus preventing them from entering Avenida Abancay (Abancay Avenue).
The demonstrators insisted on making their way towards the aforementioned road, while through loudspeakers the police asked them to go back the way they had come, arguing that it was a main avenue along which the demonstration was not allowed to circulate.
The police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators, leading to clashes. These also occurred on Avenida Grau, where photojournalists denounced having been beaten by law enforcement agents.
The Ombudsman's Office reported that
two injured people had to be transferred to Grau and Almenara Hospitals, respectively. A
policeman in a similar state was referred to the Police Hospital.
(END) FGM/MVB