Peru’s youth has taken down a president. Now they want more – By Marcelo Rochabrun (Reuters) / Nov 19 2020
LIMA (Reuters) – Grace Yarango is only 18 and she’s already helped take down a president. Now she – and many other of Peru’s millennials and Generation Z youth – have their eyes on bigger prizes: changes to the constitution and reforming a widely reviled Congress.
Demonstrators clash with police during protests that led to the resignation of Peru’s interim President Manuel Merino, in Lima, Peru November 14, 2020. Picture taken November 14, 2020. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda
Peru’s younger generation – dubbed the ‘bicentennials’ in reference to the 200-year anniversary of Peruvian independence next year – were at the heart of recent protests that led to the resignation of the country’s interim president on Sunday.
The appointment of socially liberal lawmaker Francisco Sagasti on Tuesday – Peru’s third president in just over a week – has restored some calm, but the crisis has ignited wider anger at the country’s political classes and rampant corruption.
That could see Peru follow in the footsteps of Andean neighbor Chile, which in the wake of fiery street demonstrations last year is now rewriting its constitution.
“We want to fix the mistakes of past generations,” said Yarango, who expects to vote for the first time next year, in elections scheduled for April. “I feel part of this bicentennial generation, we want a better country.”
