At least 19 injured in Peru anti-government protests

Hundreds of people marched over the weekend toward the seats of government in downtown Lima under heavy police presence.

Groups of young people threw stones, firebombs, and fireworks at law enforcement, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, AFP journalists observed.

The National Human Rights Coordinator (CNDDHH), a human rights coalition, reported on Sunday that 18 people were injured in the clashes, including a journalist.

"A police officer suffered first-degree burns from a Molotov cocktail during the march organized by various groups," the National Police reported on Saturday, along with images of the clashes on social media.

CNDDHH blamed the police for the violence.

"We call on the police to respect the right to protest. There was no justification for firing large amounts of tear gas, much less for attacking people," Mar Perez, a lawyer for the CNDDHH, told AFP.

A new march by hundreds of transport workers and the Generation Z youth collective in protest against alleged corruption and extortion was dispersed by dozens of police officers with tear gas on Sunday night.

"We are marching against corruption, for life and against the crime that is killing us every day," 28-year-old engineer Adriana Flores told AFP on Sunday.

Social unrest has increased after the Boluarte government passed a law on September 5 requiring young people to contribute to private pension funds, despite job insecurity and an unofficial employment rate of over 70 percent.

Boluarte's approval ratings have plunged in the final stretch of her term, which will end on July 28, 2026.

The conservative-majority Congress is in a similar situation over perceptions of corruption, according to several opinion polls.

Protests have also escalated in Peru over the past six months in the wake of a wave of extortion and murders by organized crime groups.