Peruvian President Alán García.
Latin America: Week in Review

Peru’s Nationalist Party Attempts To Remove President Alán García After Violence Against Miners

April 8, 2010 By Staff
Peruvian President Alán García.

Peruvian President Alán García.

Today in Latin America

Top Story — The Nationalist Party of Peru brought a motion before Congress Wednesday that declared President Alán García “morally unfit” to finish his term, due to the violent clashes earlier this week between wildcat miners and police forces that left six dead.

The motion, which is allowed under the Peruvian constitution, is not likely to pass as it requires a two-thirds majority vote and would need to clear other procedural hurdles.

“I don’t think this will be successful, it’s merely a gesture,” said Sinesio López, a professor of politics at Lima’s Catholic University, according to the Washington Post.

The move by the left-wing Nationalist Party adds pressure to the business-oriented centrist García as his party searches for a successor for next year’s presidential elections. García cannot run for a second term and his party, APRA, has no candidate lined up yet.

The clashes occurred Sunday in Peru’s Caravelí province as police attempted to disperse wildcat miners who had blocked a highway with boulders, flaming tires and their bodies. The protestors threw sticks and stones at police, who responded with tear gas and fired live rounds to disperse the crowd.

“An independent and impartial investigation is absolutely critical to ensure that those responsible for these killings are brought to justice,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.

Headlines from the Western Hemisphere

North America

  • 88 same-sex couples have gotten married in Mexico City, after a law passed by the city’s legislature giving gay marriages the same status as heterosexual ones went into effect last month.
  • The Mexican peso fell Wednesday, breaking a nine-day rise against the U.S dollar.

Caribbean

Central America

Andes

  • Colombian President Álvaro Uribe asked Venezuela to respect the human rights of the eight Colombians detained by the country on suspicions of espionage. Uribe said that Venezuela had no evidence against these Colombians, who traveled to Venezuela as tourists.
  • The Venezuelan bolivar hit a record low as the country’s central bank refrains from selling dollar debt on the local market to keep up with the demand for the U.S. dollar.

Southern Cone

Image: Presidencia de la República del Ecuador @ Flickr.

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