The Washing of the flag (Spanish: Lavado de bandera) is form of political protest that began on May 20, 2000 in Peru against the government of Alberto Fujimori. The meaning of the ritual was to symbolize the "washing of all corruption" in the country through the washing of the national flag "dirtied" by the abuse of power exercised by the Fujimori government. That year, from May to November 24, 2000, the washing of the flag took place every Friday in the Plaza Mayor of Lima and in 27 other cities in the country and abroad.
In 2000, the protest took place every Friday from noon to 3 p.m. in the Plaza Mayor of Lima and in front of the Government Palace. Dozens of people, and in some cases hundreds, gathered with a basin that they filled with water from the square's fountain. They sang the national anthem, mixed water with soap and introduced the Peruvian flag to wash it and then hang it on a temporary clothesline. Eventually the ritual also incorporated military uniforms, judges' togas and the Vatican flag.
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References
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- "Un día como hoy se lavó la bandera peruana en símbolo a limpiar la corrupción". Lucidez. 2015-11-18.
- "Top 10 Odd Protests: Cleaning up Politics". TIME. 2008-12-15.
- McGirk, Jan (2000-07-29). "Lima under siege as anti-Fujimori protests explode". The Independent.
- ^ Cole, Jack Dylan (2017-04-28). "Peru's lessons in the art of anti-government dissent". Perú Reports.
- ^ "Perú: suspenden el lavado de banderas, por ahora..." BBC News. 2000-11-24.
- León, Adriana (2000-11-25). ""¡MISION CUMPLIDA, VIVA EL PERU!"". La República. Archived from the original on 2005-04-26.
- Burt, Jo-Marie (2000). "The reawakening of Civil Society in Peru". NACLA Report on the Americas. 34 (2). New York: 1.