Peru invites ambassadors from Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia to consult | International

The Political crisis in Peru spread across the region. The Peruvian Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the ambassadors of Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia for consultations, protesting their support for former President Pedro Castillo, who has been detained for a week over a coup attempt. Tina Polwart’s new government accuses the leaders of the four countries of meddling in Peru’s “internal affairs.” The Chilean president has distanced himself from the movement of the Latin American leftist axis.

Castillo felt so alone during his tenure that he broke away from a recent confederation of nations he never quite fit in with. Gustavo Pedro, determined to give him a hand, was the only president to visit Peru in the year and a half of the rural teacher’s stricken government. Now that he’s in prison, he has more outside support than ever.

Pedro and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador have led the defense of Castillo, who they see as a victim of the Peruvian political system. Three days ago, Argentina and Bolivia, four countries together in a statement They asked the Peruvian authorities to respect them For Castillo’s investment. “From the day of his election, he has been subject to anti-democratic persecution, in violation of Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights,” the text said.

Diplomatic relations have begun to fray. The situation is not easy for the new president. Electoral progress in the country’s southern regions and protests calling for Castillo’s release are testing his opposition these days. Noise emanating from neighboring countries increases pressure on the government as a result of the coup attempt. In their statement, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Bolivia asked Peruvian institutions to “refrain from subverting the will of the people expressed through free suffrage.”

Peru’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ana Cecilia Gervasi, confirmed that the coup had taken place and that announcements by Presidents Alberto Fernandez (Argentina), Luis Arce (Bolivia), Pedro and Presidents. Lopez Obrador “Do not conform to traditional relationships of friendship, cooperation and mutual respect.” He said there was “full respect” for human rights in the country and that Castillo had received all procedural guarantees since his arrest.

The statement was not the last act in Castillo’s defense. Pedro reiterated his position on Wednesday, marking his distance from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which has pledged its support for a “democratic response” to the attempted self-coup by Peruvian institutions. The Colombian president appealed to the IACHR last Thursday, a day after Castillo was arrested for announcing the dissolution of Congress, his desire to begin rule by decree. A plea with no chance of success.

Pedro assured on social networks this Wednesday that the crisis in Peru puts into “serious question” the role of the US Congress in the Latin American legal system and “questions the Peruvian authorities for arresting an elected person without a judge, without security. The president is famous”.

The Peruvian crisis is on the way to opening a rift in the region, which has sought to rebuild relations that have not passed their best in recent years. Pedro has tried to lead that union since his election, especially in countries that have voted for left-wing presidents in recent years. Chile is the first to show its distance in relation to Peru, though not the first time to do so. Boric has always distinguished himself with his words about Venezuela, and he heard more strength in his messages about the government of Nicolás Maduro.

Lula da Silva, who will be sworn in as Brazil’s president on January 1, is also absent., continued the support movements for Castillo. “It is always unfortunate that a democratically elected president has this luck, but I understand that everything was sent within the constitutional framework,” he said hours after the rural teacher’s arrest.

Subscribe here to do newsletter EL PAÍS Get all the important information on current affairs from the Americas and in the region