'We continue to be discriminated,' Peruvian farmers say, calling for higher wages

Peru's president promises to punish police officers who shot and killed two people and inadvertently caused the death of a cancer patient.

Agricultural workers clash with riot police during a protest demanding higher incomes in Viru, 510km (317 miles) north of Lima, on December 30, 2020 [Gian Mazco/AFP]

The two individuals were demonstrators taking part in protests in solidarity with farmers demanding higher minimum wages.

Authorities say they were killed in Wednesday's clashes with police in one of the country's farming communities, along La Libertad road, north of the capital Lima.

In an effort to disperse the large crowd of people, police used live rounds of ammunition, hitting one of the now deceased victims who has been identified as a 16-year-old boy, injuring 28 others.

The third death, which the president claims is because of police negligence, came when a 56-year old man suffering from cancer died in his car while stranded in the middle of a road blockade police set up to disperse the protesters.

"We deplore and reject what happened in La Libertad,” President Francisco Sagasti tweeted on Thursday. “We condemn those who incite violence. We will sanction the police officers who violated the ban on the use of firearms.”

On Tuesday, lawmakers in Peru passed an agricultural reform bill increasing base salaries for farmers from $11 a day to $18.

The motion angered farmers, claiming the seven dollar increase shows just how much out of touch lawmakers are with the economic challenges they face.

Farmworkers are instead calling for a higher wage increase. It's not clear how much. President Sagasti has called on all three branches of government to listen to the farmers' demands saying " the new law does not satisfy any of the parties involved."

By: Niza Nondo