By Sebastian Castaneda
ICA, Peru (Reuters) – Peruvians on Monday continued a wave of protests against a rapid surge in fuel and fertilizer prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the Andean nation’s government moved to try to lower prices.
Protesters near the southern city of Ica burned toll booths and clashed with police as protests spread from the Peruvian highlands to the coast.
“This strike isn’t happening just here, it’s all over Peru today,” said one protester, who declined to be identified by name.
Protests erupted last week as farmers and truckers blocked some of the country’s main highways to the capital Lima, leading to a sudden surge in food prices in the city. At least four people have died, the government has said, amid violent clashes between protesters and police.
The government responded over the weekend with a proposal to forego most taxes on fuel in an attempt to quickly lower prices, while also raising the minimum wage by about 10% to 1,205 soles ($332) a month.
The protests are also a reality check for the embattled presidency of leftist Pedro Castillo, a peasant farmer and school teacher who won the election last year with overwhelming support from Peru’s rural poor.
His support, however, has waned over time and currently hovers at around 25% in the country as a whole, according to polls.
Peru has also issued an emergency declaration for its agricultural sector due to rising fertilizer prices triggered by Western sanctions on Russia, a major exporter of potash, ammonia, urea and other soil nutrients.
Like many countries, Peru was already battling high inflation before the war. In March, inflation hit a 26-year high, largely driven by rising fuel and food prices.
Oscar Graham, Peru’s finance minister, told Reuters on Friday that the biggest threat to Peru’s economy is the prolongation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict
($1 = 3.6280 soles)
(Reporting by Sebastian Castaneda; Writing by Marcelo Rochabrun; editing by Richard Pullin)
