On February 17, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico declared that he has no plans to give the pro-tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance to Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
He stated, “I do not will to hand over this integration mechanism’s presidency to a spurious administration. I do not want to legitimize a coup against freedoms and human rights.”
Pacific Alliance and Pedro Castillo
The Pacific Alliance is a Latin American trading bloc consisting of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. All these countries border Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 2011 with the goal of facilitating economic integration and creating a unified market.
Initially, the 17th Pacific Alliance Summit was planned to take place in Mexico in November 2022. It should have seen the Mexican President relinquish power to the former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo.
At that point, the Peruvian Congress hindered Pedro Castillo from exiting Peru by blaming him for alleged allegations of a criminal organization. Therefore, the Pacific Alliance summit was postponed to December 14, 2022 in Lima so that Castillo could take the presidency.
On December 7, 2022, the Peruvian Congress ordered the imprisonment of Pedro Castillo and replaced him with Boluarte.
Peru’s US-backed coup
The political instability in Peru is rampant, and last year, three presidents came and went in one hectic week. Pedro Castillo too was overthrown in a coup that was supported by the US.
After Pedro Castillo dissolved Congress, US ambassador to Peru, Lisa Kenna broke all diplomatic protocols. She rebuked Castillo’s move to denounce Congress in a tweet that violated diplomatic etiquette.
— Embajada EEUU Perú (@USEMBASSYPERU) December 7, 2022
The day prior to the chaotic events of December 7, Kenna met with Gustavo Bobbio, the defense secretary. Hours after Castillo’s dissolving Congress, Peru’s military and police forces put out a joint declaration promising to safeguard the constitutional order and imploring Congress to quickly initiate the process of impeachment for the President and issue a warrant for their arrest.
Needless to say, that Defense secretary has a role in it.
Former President Pedro Castillo was seen as a potential saviour for Peru. He planned to nationalise the mining industry. US saw Castillo as a threat to their control over Peru’s resources. Lisa Kenna’s recent viral video where she sees Latin America as nothing but resources has been an eye-opener. Peru falls in the similar lines.
Further, Pedro Castillo proposed a revision of the 1993 constitution, which had left Peru exposed to foreign interference. The country has faced immense political instability in recent times, with three presidents coming and going in the span of a single week last year.
ALSO READ: Latin America lambasts USA as it overthrows Peru’s Pedro Castillo in broad daylight
AMLO’s defiance of US
Since then, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has provided asylum to the ex-president’s wife and children, and has denounced the ousting of the leader as a coup staged by an oligarchy.
AMLO emphasised, “There was no legal basis for imprisoning Pedro Castillo. Behind his case, there is a class-based, racist attitude. Castillo is a rural master, a humble man whom the Peruvian right harassed since the beginning of his political campaign.”
Es un principio fundamental de nuestra política exterior la no intervención y la autodeterminación de los pueblos. A eso nos ceñimos en el caso de lo sucedido en Perú. Sin embargo, consideramos lamentable que por intereses de las élites económicas y políticas, 1/3
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) December 7, 2022
Peru’s US-backed coup government got perturbed by AMLO’s defiance. It alleged AMLO of politicizing the Pacific Alliance. Boluarte’s government accused the Mexican president of disregarding the values of the organization by refusing to transfer pro-tempore presidency of Pacific alliance to Peru.
Boluarte stated that by not allowing her government to take the helm of the Pacific Alliance, Lopez Obrador was causing damage to the members of the trade organization.
Read More: Peru is being looted by the US and Canada in broad daylight
Well, AMLO has emerged as a vocal defender of Peru’s right to self-determination and the right of all citizens to live in a democratic and peaceful society. His emphasis that Mexico will not recognize any government that is not the result of a democratic process serves as an example to world against US unjust coups.
Furthermore, the Mexican president has also expressed his support for the Peruvian people’s right to protest peacefully against the coup government. He has argued that the government’s repression of peaceful protests is a violation of human rights.
Conclusion
Overall, AMLO has been one of the most vocal opponents of the US-backed coup in Peru. He has consistently expressed his solidarity with the Peruvian people and his opposition to the US-backed coup. Undoubtedly, him not transferring Pacific alliance chair to Peru is an example of how to deal with US, how to expose US-backed coup governments.
