Sawt Falasteen - Peru's interim president embraces the spotlight in 'war' on crime

Jose Jeri -- barred from seeking election next year due to a constitutional one-term limit -- has made crime the focus of what will be a short presidency ending in July.

As the 39-year-old seeks to stabilize a government rocked by anti-crime protests and political turmoil that led to the ouster last month of his predecessor, Dina Boluarte, Jeri has opted for a tough approach to what many perceive to be the country's biggest challenge: crime.

"We are in the streets, on the ground," the former speaker of Congress boasted during a recent operation, insisting that finally a government was "addressing the problem directly."

Many Peruvians blamed Boluarte for a surge in graft and criminality, particularly extortion, giving rise to protests led by Gen Z demonstrators that left dozens injured and at least one dead.

The unrest triggered Boluarte's impeachment, and Jeri was sworn in on October 10 as Peru's seventh president since 2017.

For some, his strategy seems to be working.

"Something has changed compared to the previous government, whose presence was barely noticeable and didn't engage in dialogue with anyone," Carmen Zuniga, the 50-year-old manager of a community kitchen in Lima, told AFP.

Jeri has drawn comparisons to El Salvador's gang-busting President Nayib Bukele -- who is criticized by rights groups for rounding up innocents in his war on crime even as he is praised by many at home for making life safer.

Throwing rights concerns out of the window, Peru's new president restricted family visits for inmates considered dangerous, and imposed a mobile blackout to prevent gangsters from using phones from prison to run their extortion schemes.

He does not like the comparison to Bukele. "I am Jose Jeri. Everyone has their own personality and style," he said recently.

- 'We must declare war' -

According to a Datum poll from February, 55 percent of Peruvians approve of Bukele's iron-fisted approach.

More recently, an Ipsos poll found that 45 percent of respondents were in favor of Jeri's actions, only slightly more than the 42 percent who were not.

Often dressed in jeans and a white collared shirt with rolled-up sleeves, Jeri has sought to cultivate an image as a man of action, posing for cameras along with law enforcement officials.

He set the tone from his very first speech, saying: "The main enemy is out there, in the streets. It's the criminal gangs... and we must declare war on them."

Just over a week after he was sworn in, Jeri declared a 30-day state of emergency in Lima and the neighboring port of Callao, authorizing the army to patrol the streets and carry out arrests without warrants.

Boluarte had taken a similar measure, with limited effect.

The results of Jeri's approach are unclear: he has yet to disclose any statistics.

"What I've seen are only populist measures... They are not effective as extortions and murders continue," 20-year-old engineering student Jose Rodriguez told AFP in the capital.

Peru is gripped by a wave of extortion that has claimed dozens of lives, particularly of bus drivers -- some shot at the wheel if their companies refuse to pay protection money.

Experts say the practice has taken off amid high levels of post-pandemic poverty and unemployment, political instability following the 2022 ouster of president Pedro Castillo, and the domestic rise of gangs such as Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.

Since the beginning of the year, 56 bus drivers have been killed, according to the public prosecutor's office -- several of them since Jeri took office.

"Jeri's imitation of Bukele may be effective in the short term," said Ricardo Valdes, director of Capital Humano y Social Alternativo, a human rights NGO.

"It's a clever communication strategy... but it creates expectations and could collapse due to its inefficiency," he added.

A.AbuSaada--SF-PST