Persecuted Peruvian activist speaks on the ongoing struggle against the coup government

Last week, Rocío Leandro Melgar, president of the Front in Defense of the People of Ayacucho was arrested in Huamanga, Peru. Melgar and two others from the organization’s board have been accused of terrorism and instigating the protests that have been taking place in Ayacucho against the coup and the government of Dina Boluarte. Their organization has been active not only in organizing against the coup, but the decades-long struggle demanding a new constitution and full rights for the excluded majorities in the country. Melgar spoke to Peoples Dispatch about why they have been mobilizing and about the urgent necessity for a new constitution.