Law and Democracy in Latin America

«Rights and Justice

Peruvian protesters lynch mayor

The authorities in Peru say the mayor of the south-eastern city of Ilave has been lynched by a group of protesters who accused him of corruption.

The authorities said the Mayor, Cirilo Fernando Robles Cayomamani, was forcibly paraded through the city in front of thousands of people.

He was then assaulted in the town square as residents blocked access by the police. He died of his injuries.

Three other city officials are reported to have been abducted.

More than three weeks of protests against the mayor have closed schools and two bridges linking Peru to Bolivia, and severely disrupted economic activity.

The authorities have sent negotiators to Ilave in a bid to restore calm.

The Andean town near Lake Titicaca is impoverished and local anger had grown over allegations that state funds had been embezzled.

Deputy Interior Minister Ricardo Valdes said that government and religious officials were on their way there along with a military general in an effort to calm the situation.

Story from BBC NEWS: