In Lima, mothers gathered late into the night outside their children’s school, demanding justice after a teacher, Julio César Pacheco, was gunned down in front of his students. This shocking incident highlights a disturbing rise in gang violence in Peru. CCTV footage captured the moment on Monday, showing terrified children fleeing as Pacheco’s body lay slumped at the school’s blue metal gates, shot dead by an assassin posing as a legal messenger.
The daylight murder marks a tragic low in a wave of crime characterized by rampant racketeering and killings. In response, workers across various sectors staged strikes to express their outrage at perceived inadequate law enforcement, ineffective leadership from the unpopular government, and a weakening of anti-crime laws by a discredited congress.
Strikes were led by bus operators and motorized rickshaw drivers, with support from shopkeepers, street vendors, artists, hairdressers, and soup kitchen workers—all victims of extortion rackets threatening them with violence if they did not make regular payments. On October 8, seven murders occurred in Lima within a span of just 12 hours, despite a two-month state of emergency in 14 districts.
Protesters voiced their frustrations, chanting “They are killing us,” referring both to the physical violence and the economic stranglehold of extortion on informal workers struggling to make ends meet. Erika Solis, a crime and violence specialist at Peru’s Pontifical Catholic University, noted that extortion primarily targets low-income areas where law enforcement is scarce.
President Dina Boluarte’s response has been criticized as “primitive and populist,” focusing on raising prison sentences and deploying soldiers rather than implementing effective crime reduction measures. Current statistics reveal that nearly half of Lima’s 23,000 shopkeepers face extortion, paying between $25 and $1,000 monthly. Meanwhile, seven out of ten transport companies make average payments of $4,000 each month, with violent threats halting 300 construction sites.
Peru incurs over $1.6 billion annually due to extortion—about 0.7% of its GDP—while overall insecurity costs the country approximately $9.28 billion. The homicide rate for 2023 has already been surpassed by mid-October figures, with 1,493 violent deaths recorded.
Amid this crisis, Peru’s congress faces pressure to repeal a controversial law that experts say undermines efforts against organized crime by redefining extortion and assassination. The law also requires police to wait for legal representatives before conducting raids, which hinders effective operations.
Boluarte’s disapproval rating has reached a record 92%, following allegations regarding her collection of luxury jewelry and a police raid on her home. The political instability and rising violence reflect the urgent need for comprehensive reforms to address crime and restore public safety in Peru.
