21-year-old student Sofía Samaniego writes about her country’s political upheaval and police violence during peaceful protests.

As Peru was getting ready to celebrate 200 years of independence, we faced one of the worst political and social crises the country has seen in recent memory, culminating in three different presidents in one week.

It began on November 9, 2020 when the Peruvian legislators impeached then-President Martín Vizcarra on the grounds of alleged bribery, which he denies. Then Manuel Merino, who was head of congress, took charge. Peruvians across the country considered this a direct attack to our democracy and refused to recognize his authority.

I share the opinion of many that our congress is motivated by greed and removed Vizcarra so they could push through laws that benefit them. Specifically, some members of congress are seeking to change the basic standards of higher education in Peru because they own universities that regulators might shut down due to poor quality. With our education at stake, we could not sit and watch the congress destroy it. We had to protect our right to quality education.

A woman holds a sign reading “Say no to censorship.” (Courtesy of Sofía Samaniego)

The pacific protests started the day Manuel Merino assumed the presidency. 94% of Peruvians disagreed with the decision to remove President Vizcarra and 63% of them protested against it. I was one of those 63% of Peruvians who protested, choosing to stand by our country when it needed us the most. I thought no harm would be done to us as we exercised our right to peacefully protest, but I was wrong. The police were not on our side. They shot tear gas cartridges and marbles at us. Two young men, Inti Sotelo and Jack Pintado, died as a result of police brutality.

I was at the same protest as Inti and Jack, but when I saw the helicopters arriving my friends and I fled the main square. Even though the police cut the lights and blocked the exits, we managed to get to our homes safely. As I fled, I felt relieved because I knew I was safe but I also felt horrible because there were hundreds of students still there protesting or helping the wounded, their lives endangered by the people who are supposed to protect us. Later we found out that the helicopters were used to drop gas bombs from the air and because of the blocked exits, many people were not able to leave until the next day.

I will never forget the night of November 14, when two young men were killed defending our democracy. When the news of their deaths was confirmed, 12 of Merino’s cabinet ministers resigned over the police brutality and his handling of the crisis. The resignation of Merino himself was inevitable.

The international media only began covering the protests when the deaths occurred, but before that point we felt all alone. The world did not know what was happening and the Peruvian media was misrepresenting the protests. They portrayed the protestors as violent criminals. The truth is we are citizens and because our democracy was in danger, it was our duty to protect it.

Now under interim President Francisco Sagasti, I hope our country makes good choices in the upcoming elections this year. Peru needs a congress that is willing to work well with other institutions in order to recover from the pandemic and that is only going to happen if young people get more involved in politics. Young people need to research candidates and choose the ones that align with our values. For too long, low-income communities in our country’s interior have faced police brutality with no justice. We need reforms to our police force to address this violence and the violence during the protests. I hope that the families of Inti and Jack get justice for the deaths of their sons and reassurance that no other parent has to see their son die in a pacific protest.

“Peru needs a congress that is willing to work well with other institutions in order to recover from the pandemic and that is only going to happen if young people get more involved in politics.”

— Sofía Samaniego

We still have a long way to go but I have faith in my generation. As shown through our protests, we will not be indifferent anymore. We will not be silenced and we have proven that together we can make changes.

Sofía Samaniego

is a 21-year-old student from Peru. She lives in Lima where she studies in the University of the Pacific and hopes to continue to advocate for human rights, education and equality. You can follow her on Instagram.