Country reels as deadly political clashes spiral

Lisbeth Candia wept uncontrollably as she waited in Cusco's central morgue to recover the body of her brother Remo, the latest protester to be killed by security forces as the country experiences its worst political violence in decades.

- Dan Collyns LIMA

Protesters in Ica (far left) and La Joya demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte (right) clash with security forces

"Let there be no more deaths, let his be the last," she told the Guardian by phone. "We don't want his death to have been in vain." Remo Candia, 50, was taken to hospital last Wednesday with a gunshot wound to the abdomen but medics could not save him.

"He was just exercising his right to protest and they shot him at pointblank range," said Lisbeth.

A lunch the previous Sunday was the last time she saw the cheerful, popular leader of Urinsaya Collana, the Quechua-speaking campesino community in Anta province where the family lives.

A father of three, Remo had led farmers from his village to join the protests in Cusco's regional capital. They were demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte over the deaths of at least 42 civilians in clashes with security forces in recent weeks.