Crisis in Peru, the subject of intense debate at the Celac summit in Argentina

The Argentine government hosting the 7th Celac Summit held this Tuesday in Buenos Aires cited the institutional crisis and condemnation of human rights violations in Peruover sixty people have already died in the protests.

“Some countries raised the topic, the concern about the situation experienced by Peru. Institutional crisis and human rights violations carried out Peru with its institutional violence, for some delegations it was a burning issue,” Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said at a press conference that ended the meeting of the heads of state and government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Peru experienced an institutional crisis after the ex-president Pedro Castillo He was arrested after the failed coup d’état on December 7, which led to his dismissal by Congress and immediate arrest when he tried to take refuge in the Mexican embassy in Peru. This caused Dina Boluarte to assume the presidency in accordance with the constitutional appointment; However, clashes between the forces of order and those who demand the restoration of Castillo in his post have been going on for a month and a half.

But the Argentine foreign minister’s statement was not the only official statement about the situation in Peru that sparked intense debate on the conclave’s presentation table. For example, the President of Chile. Gabriel Boricchanged the tone his country’s diplomacy had used regarding the crisis in Peru and questioned the government of Dina Boluarte; while Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador insisted on protecting Pedro Castillo. These speeches and statements by other leaders of the region a few days before the summit received an official response from Peru in the voice of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ana Cecilia Gervasi.

What did Borik say?

In a speech, Gabriel Boric criticized the violence during last month’s crackdown in Peru, citing more than 50 deaths that have been recorded since the resumption of anti-government protests.

“We cannot remain indifferent when today, in our brother country Peru, people who go on the march and demand what they think is fair end up being shot by those who should protect them,” he said.

In addition, he stressed “the urgent need to change direction in Peru. “The balance left by the path of repression and violence – after the failed coup d’état of former President Pedro Castillo – is unacceptable,” he added.

The President of Chile also mentioned arrests and footage of police intervention at the National University of the Mayor of San Marcos (UNMSM).

“It is also unacceptable for America’s universities to revive the sad scenes of the dictatorships of the Southern Cone, as happened recently with the violent police invasion of the University of San Marcos,” he said.

Lopez Obrador back on the charge

In a remote intervention via videoconference, the Mexican president urged Selak to speak out in favor of the ex-president’s release. Pedro Castillo calling his dismissal and detention a “disgrace”.

Lopez Obrador He called on the countries of the bloc to jointly sign a statement in support of the former president, which also calls for an end to the suppression of demonstrations against the current head of Peruvian state, Dina Boluarte.

“We must not leave the brotherly people of Peru alone. What they did to Pedro Castillo and the way he represses people was a disgrace. Together we must sign a statement demanding an end to repression, open a dialogue, let the people decide in a democracy, that is, in clean, free elections, the fate of Peru,” he said.

Peruvian response

In turn, the Foreign Minister of Peru, Ana Cecilia Gervasi, ruled on references to the crisis in Peru. The Chancellor distinguished between peaceful protest by historically marginalized sections of the population and “violent actions aimed at undermining the constitutional order and achieving political goals that these groups cannot achieve by constitutional means.”

With regard to deaths due to acts of violence, Chancellor Gervasi stated that “the prosecution conducts investigations with full autonomy and accompanies National Police in action to combat violence and protect people’s lives, of the 33 million Peruvians who are the true victims of this situation of violence.”

In this vein, he questioned that “some governments from particularly close countries did not accompany Peru in this difficult institutional situation and rather prioritized ideological proximity, unconditional support for the rule of law and constitutional continuity.”

In her address to the Heads of State and Government of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Minister for Foreign Affairs called on members SELAC so they “support the only democratic and institutional way out of this crisis: early general elections, so that the people of Peru, sovereignly and without any interference, decide their future in peace and freedom”, and also “reject all measures aimed at disrupting stability and democratic institutions in Peru”.

Demonstrations in Buenos Aires

Organizations of Argentine leftists and self-styled Peruvian immigrants mobilized outside the summit venue to demand that participants speak out on the situation.

Dozens of protesters marched past the police fences guarding the Sheraton Hotel where the summit was being held to show their dissatisfaction with the government’s actions. Dina Boluarte and because of the non-recognition of violence in the streets of the Andean nation.

“I have come to condemn the coup they staged against Castillo. The congress opened in favor of big businessmen who came to plunder our Peru,” Jorge Gonzalez, who has lived in Argentina for ten years, told EFE.

For their part, the national leader of the Unity Left Front, Celeste Fierro, told the EFE news agency that they were marching to demand a statement from Selak.

“We have gathered to demand that they oppose the illegitimate government boluartwhich is a parliamentary coup and for 45 days carries out a brutal repression against the Peruvian people, mobilized in the streets, demanding that they leave and close the Congress,” Fierro said.

During the mobilization, Peruvian flags with a black ribbon were raised, as well as a large banner with images of people killed in clashes with police and in the midst of blockades on the streets of the country. (According to EFE and Europapress)