Peru’s new President Dina Bolluarte proposed holding general elections for two years until April 2024 during a televised address early Monday morning amid ongoing protests across the country.   

  “Interpreting the will of the people… I decided to take the initiative to reach an agreement with the Congress of the Republic to advance the general elections until April 2024,” Boluarte said in the televised address.   

  Boluarte became Peru’s first female president last week after lawmakers ousted her predecessor Pedro Castillo.   

  He initially ruled out early elections last week, but protests across the country have followed, killing at least two people and prompting the United Nations’ human rights office to express concern about escalating tensions.   

  “With violence escalating as protests continue in Peru, we are deeply concerned that the situation could escalate further,” spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said.  “Given the number of demonstrations, including strikes, planned for this week, we call on all concerned to exercise restraint.”   

  Since last week, protests have erupted in cities across the country in support of Castillo, who is under seven-day pretrial detention ordered by Peru’s Supreme Court and has not accepted his removal, calling Boluarte a “usurper.”   

  Protesters called for another general election, the dissolution of Congress and the creation of a new constituent assembly, according to radio and television network Radio Programas del Perú.   

  On Saturday, protesters also demonstrated in the city of Andahuaylas, injuring at least 20 people, including four police officers, according to the Office of the Ombudsman of Peru.   

  Peru’s health ministry announced Sunday night that two people died and three were hospitalized in the Apurímac region, where Andahuaylas province is located, as a result of the protests.   

  Castillo insisted on Monday that he is still the president of Peru, according to a series of tweets posted on his Twitter account.  He was accused of trying to dissolve the nation’s Congress and calling for new elections.   

  “I am unconditionally loyal to the popular and constitutional mandate I hold as President and I WILL NOT RESIGN NOR ABANDON MY HIGH AND SACRED FUNCTION,” reads part of the message.   

  Castillo also claimed he had been “kidnapped” as well as “humiliated” and “mistreated” and asked for his own release, according to a handwritten letter he wrote, which was also posted on his account on Monday.   

  Castillo’s lawyer, Ronald Atencio, verified the authenticity of the letter and tweets to CNN.  The tweets were authorized by the former president to be written on his behalf.   

  On Monday, Alfredo Rodriguez Ballon Airport in Peru’s largest southern city, Arequipa, was temporarily closed due to protests, according to a statement from Peru’s Andean Airports, posted on Twitter by the country’s Ministry of Transport and Communications.   

  “Our Alfredo Rodriguez Ballón airport in the city of Arequipa has been invaded by a group of protesters who have entered through the perimeter fence, destroying the security infrastructure and setting fire to the security gate, which has put the safety of passengers, our team and air.  businesses at risk,” the announcement states.   

  Images from the scene showed smoke in the distance, while protesters walked down the airport runway.   

  The airport evacuated those inside the terminal and later on Monday, officials told local media that the situation was “under control”.   

  “The situation in Arequipa is under control, the police have control of the airport (inside).  We ask citizens to exercise their right to protest but in a peaceful way and not endanger people’s lives,” said Angel Manrique of the Office of the Ombudsman in Arequipa in an interview with local radio RPP on Monday.   

  In footage from the southern city of Ica, a vehicle overturned and protesters blocked roads.  Police were seen clashing with protesters, who were throwing stones at the forces.   

  On Sunday, at least 50 people, including police officers and airport workers, were also held “hostage” after attacks and “acts of vandalism” by protesters at the Huancabamba de Andahuaylas airport in the city of Andahuaylas, the Peruvian Airports Corporation.  and Commercial Aviation in a statement.   

  The airport was closed as a result, the organization said, adding that it had asked the national police for support and reinforcements and to help “preserve the lives of the people being held hostage”.  The organization did not provide information on the condition of the hostages.   

  Peru’s Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation accused protesters of setting fire to the airport’s broadcast room, fuel hall and surrounding the terminal with “acts of violence,” it said in a statement.  He also said the runway and essential equipment were “severely affected”.   

  The country is on the brink after Castillo was ousted last week.   

  Many Peruvians are calling for a change in the political guard, according to a poll by the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP) in September, which found 60 percent of respondents supported early elections to renew both the presidency and Congress.   

  Boluarte’s rise to the presidency may not necessarily ease Peru’s toxic and bitter political landscape.   

  Fernando Tuesta Soldevilla, professor of political science at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), told CNN that Boluarte “does not have a recognized political career.  And without party support, political party or social organization behind it, it is weak from the start.”   

  “Everyone knows when the Dina Bolluarte government started, but no one can be sure how long it will last,” he said.