Peru protests bring students, unions and victims’ families to Lima to demand action on extortion, wildfires, living costs and police reform.
Related: Peru’s Youth Protest Government Over Crime And Forest Fires
Peru Protests Bring Generation Z to Lima Against Fujimori
Peru protests filled the historic center of Lima on Saturday, October 24, as young people, students, unions and victims’ families demanded action from President Keiko Fujimori’s government.
Demonstrators began gathering at 4:00 p.m. at Plaza San Martín, a historic site of popular struggles in the Peruvian capital.
The march was convened by groups identifying with Generation Z, along with human rights organizations, university students and self-organized citizens.
Participants included students from the National University of San Marcos and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
The protesters demanded responses to a wave of extortion, the environmental crisis caused by forest fires, the rising cost of living and impunity for state repression.
They marched through Jirón de la Unión and Avenida Grau before advancing toward Avenida Abancay.
The demonstration was largely peaceful but firm. Participants carried Peruvian flags and banners reading “Put out the fires,” “For a Peru that is never indifferent to its people’s suffering,” and “Urgent police reform.”
Local media estimated that around 1,000 people took part in the Lima march.
Similar mobilizations were reported in Arequipa, Cusco, Ica, Huancayo, Trujillo and Juliaca.
The protests reflect growing discontent with the government’s handling of insecurity, environmental emergencies and economic pressures affecting working-class communities.
Peru Protests Demand Police Reform and Security
Peru’s Ministry of the Interior | Amnesty International—Peru
One of the central demands of the Peru protests was an end to extortion networks that affect transport workers, merchants, shopkeepers and small business owners.
Protesters said criminal groups are imposing payments on workers and entrepreneurs in popular neighborhoods, creating fear and undermining local economies.
Demonstrators called for a deep police reform to dismantle corruption networks within the police force.
They also demanded stronger intelligence work and community-based prevention rather than the repression of social protest.
The marchers criticized the use of security forces against demonstrations and called for greater protection for vulnerable communities.
During the march, police blocked the route to prevent demonstrators from reaching the exterior of the Congress of the Republic.
The image of officers containing the crowd highlighted the distance between a closed political institution and a mobilized population demanding to be heard.
The protest also included relatives of people killed during the social protests between December 2022 and June 2023.
They carried photographs of their loved ones and demanded justice for the deaths that occurred during the political crisis.
Milagros Samillán, whose brother was killed in January 2023 in Juliaca, Puno, said families were still demanding accountability four years after what she described as the massacres of 2022 and 2023.
Human rights organizations have documented serious concerns about the use of force during those protests.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly reported that 68 people died between December 7, 2022, and April 7, 2023, in the context of protests across nine regions.
The UN official said that 74 percent of those deaths occurred during confrontations with law enforcement.
Civil society organizations have called for independent investigations, prosecutions and reparations for victims and their families.
Peru Protests Highlight Wildfire and Climate Crisis
Peru’s National Institute of Civil Defense | United Nations Environment Programme
The environmental emergency was another major focus of the Peru protests.
Demonstrators denounced the government’s response to forest fires that affected 16 regions across the country.
According to Peru’s National Center of Emergency Operations, known as COEN, and the National Institute of Civil Defense, known as Indeci, the fires caused 479 emergencies.
The disasters left 12 people dead and 708 people affected, according to the official figures cited during the mobilization.
The fires destroyed 1,299 hectares of crops and more than 13,800 hectares of natural cover.
They also caused severe damage to local wildlife and livestock, affecting rural and Indigenous communities.
The affected regions included Cusco, Puno, Junín, Apurímac, Áncash, Huancavelica, Arequipa, Amazonas and Cajamarca.
Protesters said the government failed to provide enough brigades, funding and prevention measures to confront the emergency.
One young demonstrator said the fires were only extinguished after rainfall arrived, not because of an effective state response.
“Tuvo que llover para que recién se apagaran los incendios,” she said, denouncing the lack of brigades, budget and prevention.
Another protester criticized the floods caused by heavy rains in Piura and the absence of a strategic plan to address the El Niño phenomenon.
El Niño periodically devastates northern Peru through intense rainfall, flooding and damage to infrastructure.
Demonstrators said corruption in reconstruction projects and the abandonment of public infrastructure have worsened the impact of these climate events.
The protesters demanded a parliamentary investigation into the origin of the fires and adequate reparations for affected communities.
They also called on national, regional and local authorities to strengthen prevention and prepare for future climate emergencies.
Geopolitical Context
The Peru protests reflect a broader wave of youth-led mobilization across Latin America.
Generation Z movements have emerged as a political force in several countries, demanding action on insecurity, corruption, inequality, climate change and democratic accountability.
In Peru, the protests come amid a prolonged institutional crisis marked by political instability, social conflict and public distrust in state institutions.
The country has experienced a succession of presidents and governments in recent years, deepening polarization and weakening public confidence.
Keiko Fujimori’s government faces pressure to respond to demands for security without resorting to repressive measures.
The demand for police reform is particularly sensitive because of the legacy of state violence during the 2022 and 2023 protests.
The forest fires also expose the unequal impact of climate change in Peru.
Rural and Indigenous communities in the Andes and Amazon face the greatest risks, despite having contributed least to global emissions.
The destruction of crops, forests and livestock threatens food security, local economies and the cultural survival of affected communities.
The protests could increase pressure on Congress and the executive branch to allocate more resources to disaster prevention, environmental protection and social repair.
They may also influence the political debate ahead of future electoral processes, as youth movements seek greater representation in national politics.
For now, the mobilization has made clear that insecurity, climate emergencies and impunity are no longer separate issues.
For many young Peruvians, they form part of the same crisis of governance, and the demand is simple: a state that protects its people instead of abandoning them.
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