Peru protesters tear-gassed after president calls for truce, 55 people dead in clashes

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Peru's capital and were met with volleys of tear gas and pellets amid clashes with security forces just hours after President Dina Boluarte called for a “truce” in almost two months of protests.

The antigovernment protest Tuesday was the largest – and most violent — since last Thursday, when large groups of people, many from remote Andean regions, descended on the capital to demand Boluarte’s resignation, immediate elections and the dissolution of Congress. 

 Dozens of civilians shot dead by armed forces. The gates of a premier public university stormed by a military tank. Police precincts set aflame.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Boluarte called for a “national truce” in order to engage in “dialogue and set an agenda” for the country.

But she also used her speech to denounce the protesters for failing to organise “a social agenda” and for committing violence and destruction, including through the use of homemade guns.