The Peruvian Foreign Minister, Ana Gervasi, regretted this Tuesday when speaking at the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), that was held in Buenos Aires, that there are governments that “have not accompanied “Peru” after the failed self-coup by former president Pedro Castillo.
“It is regrettable that some governments of particularly close countries have not accompanied Peru in this difficult institutional situation and have prioritized ideological affinity over unequivocal support for the rule of law and constitutional succession,” said Gervasi, referring to Castillo’s dismissal for Parliament after his failed attempt on December 7 and the assumption of the head of State by the until then vice president, Dina Boluarte.
In Gervasi’s opinion, some countries, which he did not mention directly, have “sought to establish a distorted narrative that is not consistent with the objective events that occurred in Peru.”
“It never ceases to amaze that in 2023, After the vast majority of the countries in the region have experienced traumatic episodes of constitutional ruptures with extremely painful sequelae, It is not possible to achieve a unanimous rejection of an attempt to illegally close Congress and the institutions that protect democracy in my country,” he said.
On December 7, Castillo dictated in a speech read from the Government Palace the closure of Congress, the reorganization of all the agencies of the Justice system and the formation of an emergency Executive that was to govern by decree.
Following that announcement, Congress closed its doors to prevent its dissolution and voted, with 101 votes in favor of 130 and only six against, to remove Castillo.
Regarding the anti-government protests unleashed since December 11 and calling for Boluarte’s resignation, the calling of general elections and a constituent assembly, in which 62 people have lost their lives, Gervasi explained that the Executive “regrets the tragic loss of human life”.
He stressed that these “are being investigated” by the Prosecutor’s Office, which “has full autonomy” to do so and “so that those responsible are tried and sentenced according to law.”
“It is false and offensive to mention and insinuate, as has been mentioned today, that the Government has authorized the violent repression of those who protest,” he concluded.
Boric and Peru
The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, assured shortly before in his speech that Peru needs a “change of course” in the face of the “unacceptable” violence of the last month.
“We cannot be indifferent when today in our sister nation of Peru, people who go out to march and demand what they consider fair end up being shot by those who should defend them,” Boric indicated before the bloc’s plenary.
For his part, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who did not attend the Buenos Aires meeting, asked Celac for a joint statement against the “repression” in Peru and for the release of former president Castillo.
“We must not leave the brotherly people of Peru alone, what they did with Pedro Castillo and the way in which they are repressing the people was an infamy,” declared the president in a video message he sent to the VII Celac Summit.