Why the ‘return’ of thousands of tear gas raises an angry controversy in Peru and Ecuador

The government of Guillermo Lasso has become one of the few allies of the questioned administration of Dina Boluarte.

The massive protests in Peru against the “transitory” government of Dina Boluarte have been going for two months and the tensions do not seem to calm down. The social unrest that is observed with daily demonstrations throughout the country have intensified the climate of hostility and the prolonged political crisis.

This convulsive situation, which is far from a quick outcome, has led to the strong protests have spread from the most distant provinces and rural to Lima, the capital of the country, a situation that worries the questioned Peruvian authorities.

The situation seems to have pushed the forces of public order and the Boluarte regime to the limit of their capacity, accused of committing violations against the Human Rights of the protesters.

In this context, Boluarte’s cabinet asked the Ecuadorian government, headed by conservative Guillermo Lasso, to return 12,000 tear gas canisters ceded by the former Peruvian president Martin Vizcarra to his then Ecuadorian counterpart, Lenin Moreno, to suppress the anti-government protests of 2019.

Thus, at the end of last January, Lasso – who has expressed his public support for the Boluarte regime after the dismissal and imprisonment of former president Pedro Castillo – approved the delivery to Peru of 6,000 37-millimeter tear gas canisters5,000 12-mm cartridges and 1,000 hand grenades.

Lasso’s decision has been criticized both in Ecuador and Peru, especially by the different social movements that are leading the protests to demand the resignation of Boluarte, the closure of Congress, general elections, a Constituent Assembly and the release of Castillo, detained since last December 7th.

Quito returns the earring to Lima

Peru supported the government of the right-wing Moreno to increase the repression of the public force against the protesters in Ecuador, who were demanding the resignation of the president.

The outbreak that Moreno faced occurred in October 2019, when the population took to the streets after the announcement of a series of reforms that included the removal of the subsidy for extra and ecopais gasolines, the most used and least expensive in Ecuador, as well as diesel.

In that occasion, the protests lasted for 11 days and left 11 dead, 1,340 injured —including 11 people who lost an eye— and 1,192 detainees. Although Moreno ended up repealing decree 883 to contain the outbreak, months later he enacted other unpopular measures that sparked more protests.

It was precisely in May 2020, when the Vizcarra government, which was appointed as president after the resignation of former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, sent Moreno the batch of grenades that Lasso is now returning to Boluarte, to try to contain the wave of demonstrations.

The support of the Lasso government for Boluarte is seen by the protesters and social organizations as an interference in the internal affairs of Peru.

In addition, sectors that reject the Boluarte regime consider that Lasso acts behind the back of the international communitywho has expressed his rejection of the repressive wave in Peru.

manifestations of rejection

Last week, groups that reject Lasso’s decision held a seedling outside the Peruvian embassy in Quito to express their concern.

They also requested an explanation from the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Defense and the Presidency for the delivery of the grenades to the Peruvian Police, as well as the immediate termination of police cooperation agreements between both countries.

Only in mid-January did the Peruvian National Police request “very urgently” the purchase of 230,000 grenades and tear gas cartridgesin addition to other anti-riot items.

In addition, the Boluarte Executive has transferred funds in a special way, 22.9 million soles (5.95 million dollars), to the Ministry of the Interior to finance Police expenses such as travel expenses and food for the agents to contain the demonstrations.

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