Democracy Square ( es, Plaza de la Democracia) is a public square in the

Historic Centre of Lima Located principally in the city centre or Cercado de Lima and Rímac areas, the Historic Centre of Lima is among the most important tourist destinations in Peru. Foundation The city of Lima, the capital of Peru, was founded by Francisco Piz ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. It is located on the former site of the Bank of the Nation Building, which burned down in the year 2000 during the

Four Quarters March The Four Quarters March or Four Suyos March ( es, Marcha de los Cuatro Suyos) was a popular mobilization and later riots held in Peru on July 26, 27 and 28, 2000. The march was organized in opposition of Alberto Fujimori's third consecutive elect ...

. The park's address is 1045 Nicolás de Piérola Avenue. In 2023, the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima approved that the square be renamed after Luis Giampietri.

Overview

The square is located in the

, one block away from the Plaza San Martín and one block away from the University Park. The headquarters of the

National Jury of Elections The National Jury of Elections (''Jurado Nacional de Elecciones'', JNE) of Peru is an autonomous constitutional organ, headquartered in Lima. Its goal is to oversee the legality of electoral processes, guaranteeing the respect for the population' ...

(JNE) are located in front of the park on

Nicolás de Piérola avenue Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–17 ...

. The park features a small monolith in its centre with the park's name. The park is used for public events, such as book fairs, and protests, such as the

2022 Peruvian economic protests Mass protests in Peru against inflation and President Pedro Castillo's government began in March 2022. The protests occurred amid rising fertilizer and fuel prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions imposed on Russia. ...

or the

2022–2023 Peruvian protests The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

History

Original building (1962–2000)

The plaza was formerly the location of a building that housed the ''Banco Comercial del Perú'' and later the ''Banco de la Nación''. The building was designed by Peruvian architect

Enrique Seoane Ros Enrique Buenaventura Juan Seoane Ros (Lima, January 12, 1915 – July 26, 1980) was a Peruvian modernist architect of the 20th century. Early life Seoane was born in Lima on January 12, 1915, to parents Buenaventura Guillermo Seoane García and ...

, and built by ''Flores & Costa, S.A.'', a Peruvian construction firm. On July 28, 2000, amid the protests that surrounded the building and the centre of Lima known as the

, an explosion and fire on the building's third floor compromised the building's structural integrity and killed six security guards. The explosion was reportedly caused by undercover agents acting under orders of

Vladimiro Montesinos Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres (born 20 May 1945) is a former long-standing head of Peru's intelligence service, National Intelligence Service (SIN), under President Alberto Fujimori. In the year 2000, the infamous "Vladi-videos" came ...

. The intent was to paint the protests in a negative light, and to link them to terrorist groups

Shining Path The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the gro ...

and MRTA.

Plaza (2006–present)

The current plaza differed from its original designs but was built and completed, being inaugurated on July 27, 2006. The inauguration ceremony was headed by now President Alejandro Toledo, who had participated in the 2000 march. His speech during the event referenced the fire and his anti-Fujimorist stance, referring to

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto ( or ; born 28 July 1938) is a Peruvian politician, professor and former engineer who was President of Peru from 28 July 1990 until 22 November 2000. Frequently described as a dictator, * * * * * * he remains a ...

's government as tyrannical. Kurt Burneo, the bank's president at the time of both the fire and the ceremony, was present in the event.

References

{{coord, -12.0522, -77.0332, format=dms, type:landmark_region:PE, display=title Squares in Lima Historic Centre of Lima

Overview

History

Original building (1962–2000)

Plaza (2006–present)

See also

References