*

Gen Z protests sparked by pension reform, longstanding

discontent

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President Boluarte's approval rating at 2.5%, Congress at

3%

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Peru's mining industry affected by unrest, Hudbay Minerals ( HBM )

shuts

down mill

By Marco Aquino and Alexander Villegas

LIMA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Peru's youth are rallying for

another round of protests against President Dina Boluarte on

Saturday, a week after demonstrations in the capital led to

clashes with police, leaving over a dozen police officers,

protesters and journalists injured.

The protests erupted on September 20 following reforms to

the country's pension system that required all Peruvians above

the age of 18 to join a pension provider, but were also fueled

by longstanding anger against Boluarte and Congress.

"There's been a low, simmering level of discontent in Peru

and it's been that way for actually quite some time," said

Jo-Marie Burt, a visiting professor at Princeton University's

program in Latin American studies who has researched Peruvian

politics for decades.

The discontent, Burt said, has been fueled by corruption

scandals, economic insecurity, rising crime and anger over a

lack of accountability over dozens of protesters who were killed

by security forces when Boluarte assumed power in late 2022

after former President Pedro Castillo was removed from office

and arrested.

The Institute of Peruvian Studies' July report shows

Boluarte's approval rating at 2.5%, with Congress' at 3%.

Aside from the unrest in Lima, protests have rattled the

country's mining industry. Hudbay Minerals ( HBM ) said on

Tuesday it temporarily shut down its mill in Peru amid ongoing

unrest. Peru is the world's third largest copper producer and a

major producer of gold and silver.

PERU'S YOUTH TAKE TO THE STREETS

Peru's Gen Z protests follow youth demonstrations in

Indonesia and Nepal. A common feature in the demonstrations has

been a skull in a straw hat, a symbol from the Japanese manga

"One Piece" about treasure-hunting pirates.

Leonardo Munoz is one of the protesters in Lima embracing

the symbol.

"The main character, Luffy, travels from town to town

freeing people from tyrannical, corrupt rulers in towns of

slaves," Munoz said. "It represents what's going on in various

countries. That's what is happening now in Peru."

According to Peru's INE statistics agency, 27% of Peru's

population is between the ages 18 and 29.

"We're tired of this being normalized. Since when have we

normalized death, since when have we normalized corruption,

extortion," said Santiago Zapata, a student protester.

"My generation is coming out to protest now because we're

tired of being silenced, made to feel afraid when the government

we elected should fear us."

DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING IN PERU AND ABROAD

The protests, Burt says, are unfolding in a wider context in

which democracies across the globe are under pressure, and

follow the administration's efforts to weaken courts, watchdogs

and prosecutors.

"It's very reminiscent of what happened in the 1990s under

Fujimori, when the justice system was essentially captured to

consolidate authoritarian control," she said.

While there's less pressure from the United States to uphold

democracy abroad, and worries persist about the administration

eroding electoral institutions ahead of the 2026 elections, Burt

noted, past protests in Peru helped in "holding the line from

institutions being taken over" and even toppled presidents.

"Democratic forces, even when there's almost total control

by these authoritarian systems, can mobilize and act in

unexpected ways that can have a positive result," Burt said,

adding that a key factor will be if the protests can be

sustained over time. "The opera is not over yet."