Oscar Vidarte: “The OAS tried to be very careful to give legitimacy to its mission”

PUCP international relations professor Oscar Vidarte referred to a high-level group of the Organization of American States (OAS) that arrived in the capital following President Pedro Castillo’s request to activate the democratic charter. Vidarte specified that the international organization very carefully approached the choice of members of the commission sent to Lima in order to have legitimacy.

“The profile of some governments in the region, such as Guatemala, El Salvador, from one spectrum and Venezuela and Nicaragua, from another spectrum, is not the most favorable for the formation of this delegation. Despite this, I believe that The OAS tried to be very careful to give legitimacy to its mission. and for this, she tried to form one that will unite the various points of view regarding Peru, ”he said in News extension from PTR.

“At the meeting that took place in the Permanent Council a few weeks ago, it was clear that there are two trends: a group of countries that basically tried to support the regime of President Castillo, and another group of countries that emphasized democratic institutions. I think that in addition to what was said, this group combines these two tendencies in a rather interesting balance, which gives it legitimacy and avoids criticism”, he added.

Importance of the OAS

Vidarte said he was not sure what impact the OAS mission in Peru would have. However, he saved its significance in two historical processes of our history: 1992 self-coup and end of Alberto Fujimori’s government in 2000.

“no one knows what will happen. We are not an oracle to guess whether this mission will have any impact on our country. But if you analyze, for example, the role that the OAS played in similar scenarios that Peru faced in previous cases – I mean 1992, in self-improvement, in 2000, in the context of the end of the Fujimori government. — I think the balance is quite positive. In 1992, he managed to bring Fujimori back to democracy, and in 2000 he created a dialogue table, which was very important at that time. These two experiences in the case of Peru must be taken into account in order to have some kind of positive perspective,” he said.

Finally, he noted that the political situation in the country is becoming more and more complete, so he considers it necessary to intervene by international organizations such as the OAS.

“In addition, there is a comparative perspective of situations in which international organizations have played an important role. Of course, there are limitations, of course. OAS is not perfect. There are critical remarks about the Secretary General and the political position of the countries. region that it can fully support President Castillo. The OAS is an intergovernmental forum for political debate, and this means that it has many limitations in defending democracy. However, there is less and less opportunity in Peru to reach a political agreement, and the truth is that there is no democracy that can last that long”, He finished.