The shutdown of urban transportation services in the Peruvian capital expresses protest against the frequent murders of public transport drivers by hitmen from organizations dedicated to mass extortion and the government’s ineffective response to the problem.

The spokesperson for the business bloc Transportistas Unidos (United Transporters), Martin Ojeda, stated that 22,000 buses will be paralyzed.

He explained that drivers or the companies that employ them pay between 10 and 30 soles daily (US$3 to US$9) under threat of death.

The prime minister tried to dissuade the protest in a dialogue with its leaders, without success.

He then attempted to discredit the demonstration by claiming that the strike was driven by political and electoral interests and elements linked to organized crime.

Jeri changed his tune in two meetings with strike leaders, without achieving any results, and admitted that it was a wake-up call and a measure of solidarity and empathy in the face of crime.

Meanwhile, questions about Jeri are growing in Parliament, where Congressman Segundo Montalvo announced he is gathering signatures to present a motion to impeach the president for initiating what opposition forces consider an attempt to privatize the state-owned oil company Petroperú.

The same measure was applied by the Parliament to the until then president Dina Boluarte, who replaced Jeri as president of the Congress.

The head of the legislature, Fernando Rospigliosi, reacted vehemently and rejected the possibility of a new vacancy, arguing that it would alter the stability required for the April 12 general elections.

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