It was a first moment of stupor and then of waiting. The speed with which events were unfolding in Peru hardly gave time to test any kind of reaction in the foreign ministries of Latin America. Silence was general, with the sole exception of Argentina and Mexico. The first spoke of a “political crisis” and called for the protection “of democratic institutions.” The second called to “respect democracy and human rights.” The rest of the foreign services preferred to wait for the fate of Pedro Castillo’s onslaught against Congress and his subsequent parliamentary dismissal.
“Argentina calls on all political and social actors to protect democratic institutions, the rule of law and the constitutional order,” the official account of the Argentine Foreign Ministry published in a tweet. Buenos Aires maintained good relations with the now ex-president Pedro Castillo during the 16 months that he was in power. The Peruvian even went so far as to ask Buenos Aires for diplomatic help when attempts were made by Congress to remove him. “Clearly, Argentina rejected the decision that Castillo made,” a source from the foreign ministry in Buenos Aires said on Wednesday. “We were one of the first countries to define a public position demanding that the democratic order be recovered. [El canciller Santiago] Cafiero was in conversation with the foreign ministers of the region and also with the foreign ministers that made up the OAS group of countries, which has become obsolete due to this situation in Peru, and he spoke several times during the day with the Argentine ambassador in Peru.” added the source.
Argentina regrets and expresses its deep concern over the political crisis that the sister Republic of Peru is going through, and calls on all political and social actors to safeguard democratic institutions, the rule of law and constitutional order.
– Argentine Foreign Ministry 🇦🇷 (@CancilleriaARG) December 7, 2022
Mexico personalized the message. The Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said from his Twitter account that his country regretted “the latest events in Peru (…) that endearing brother people.” A few minutes before he had advanced the suspension, for the second time, of the Pacific Alliance Summit scheduled for December 14 in Lima. “I will keep you informed,” the minister said. The meeting was scheduled for November 25 in Mexico, but President Andrés Manuel López Obrador decided to suspend it because the Peruvian Congress had denied Castillo a travel permit.
Ebrard assured that Castillo avoided calling the López Obrador Administration to ask for their support or any kind of assistance. However, the Mexican foreign minister explained in an interview on Mexican radio that if the Peruvian politician requests asylum from Mexico, the North American country would not refuse. “We have a policy favorable to asylum, I don’t think we would refuse. If he asks, we would consider it, we shouldn’t object, but he hasn’t,” he said. Ebrard confirmed that some Peruvians were stationed at the gates of the Mexican embassy in Lima, fearing that Castillo would seek asylum in the diplomatic representation. “The truth, it never came, I don’t know if it was his intention,” said the foreign minister.
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Mexico regrets the latest events in Peru and wishes respect for democracy and human rights for the good of that endearing sister nation.
— Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) December 7, 2022
López Obrador was less diplomatic and openly sided with Castillo. Months ago he had already offered his explicit support to his Peruvian counterpart in the face of the turbulence of his mandate. This Wednesday, he described it as “unfortunate that, due to the interests of the economic and political elites, since the beginning of the legitimate presidency of Pedro Castillo, an environment of confrontation and hostility has been maintained against him to the point of leading him to make decisions that have served his adversaries to consummate his dismissal”. The Bolivian government also followed that line. “The constant harassment of anti-democratic elites against progressive, popular and legitimately constituted governments must be condemned by all,” President Luis Arce, former Minister of Economy under Evo Morales, wrote on Twitter. The former Bolivian president, a symbol of left-wing governments in Latin America, limited himself, instead, to asking for respect for the Constitution, “security, the right to life and peaceful and democratic coexistence.”
Chile, meanwhile, spoke in the same terms as Argentina and the Mexican foreign minister. In no case did he refer to a coup or name Pedro Castillo. Much less, the decision of Congress to remove him and his subsequent arrest. “The Government of Chile deeply regrets the political situation that the Republic of Peru is experiencing,” the Chilean Foreign Ministry released in a statement.
Like Mexico, Chile also called for respect for “human rights and fundamental freedoms” and reaffirmed “its commitment to democracy and dialogue as the way to overcome this complex moment.”
The Government of Brazil, still headed by Jair Bolsonaro, “follows with concern the internal political situation in Peru that led to the constitutional dismissal of President Pedro Castillo by Congress,” according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports Naiara Galarraga. Lula da Silva, the country’s president-elect, concurred. According to his statement, he follows “with great concern the events that led to the constitutional removal of the president.” “I understand that everything was developed within the constitutional framework”, wrote Lula, who will take office in Brazil on the first day of January, adding: “it is always regrettable that a democratically elected president has this luck”. Both Lula and Bolsonaro have wished success to the new president, Dina Boularte. The president-elect has promised her that her government “will work tirelessly to rebuild regional integration.”
Colombia, in turn, did refer to the events in Peru as an “attack against democracy.” And she warned that she condemns him “wherever he comes from”, in reference to Castillo’s leftist origin. “Colombia recalls that democracy requires the recognition of the popular will expressed both in the elections for president and for Congress”, said the Colombian Foreign Ministry in a statement.
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