Get Set for the Battle of Peru

Get set for the battle of Peru. Not long after the Marxist-Leninist president, Pedro Castillo, was deposed by the Lima parliament on allegations of corruption, the region’s leftist leaders are now lining up behind him, and against America. Mr. Castillo is leading a violent insurrection in Peru against his successor and former vice president, Dina Boluarte. Street demonstrations and deadly clashes between supporters of Mr. Castillo and the army and police have thrown the country into complete chaos. Secretary Blinken a week ago called Ms. Boluarte to express America’s support after the dramatic events of December 8 that led to Mr. Castillo being jailed. “The United States looks forward to working closely with President Boluarte on shared goals and values related to democracy, human rights, security, anti-corruption, and economic prosperity,” Mr. Blinken said, according to a state department readout of the call. An alliance of left-wing Latin leaders disagrees. Rather than supporting Ms. Boluarte, they sided with the inept and corrupt Mr. Castillo. One reason is his ideologically laced rhetoric, harking back to his former party’s Marxist-Leninist roots, which is valued by those leaders.On December 7, the congress at Lima voted to impeach Mr. Castillo and remove him from the presidency. In anticipation of the vote, Mr. Castillo attempted hours earlier to “temporarily” disband congress. After the army intervened and arrested Mr. Castillo, Ms. Boluarte assumed her new role. Since then a country-wide protest has erupted, with throngs of Mr. Castillo’s supporters calling for his reinstatement to power. As violence escalated, leaving more than 26 people dead and 560 injured, Peru’s government declared a 30-day state of emergency. During his phone conversation with Ms. Boluarte, Mr. Blinken called on her and on “all Peruvian actors” to “engage in constructive dialogue to ease political divisions and focus on reconciliation,” in order to undertake “needed reforms and safeguard democratic stability.”According to the Peruvian foreign ministry, “Blinken has said that Peru is an important ally of the United States and has offered to continue supporting the democratic institutional process.” At the same time, the dictatorships of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela convened at Havana last week to rally to Mr. Castillo’s support. They accused Washington of waging a campaign to harass and destabilize the region’s leftist leaders. The elected presidents of Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, and Colombia chimed in as well, releasing a statement urging the Peruvian congress to reverse “the recent events that resulted in deposing Mr. Castillo,” whom they called a “victim of antidemocratic harassment.”“Our governments call on all the actors involved in the previous process to prioritize the will of the citizens that was pronounced in the polls,” the statement said.Some in the Latin press noted that while the Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, had refused to reject human rights violations in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua under his “non-interference” policy, he was one of the first leaders in the region to request the reinstatement of Mr. Castillo, according to political analysts. A former Mexican ambassador in Washington, Arturo Sarukhán, told Argentine newspaper La Nacion that Mr. Lopez Obrador applies his foreign affairs policies “when it’s convenient for him,” and when it conveniently aligns with his visions.“When it’s not convenient for him, he files a complaint against the United States, saying that it financially supports coup groups in Mexico,” Mr. Sarukhán wrote.Trying to smooth feathers, Ms. Boluarte summoned the ambassadors of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Mexico for a joint meeting. A date for that powwow, if it ever comes together, is yet to be determined. The Lima foreign ministry was quite blunt, saying in a statement that regional leaders backing Mr.Castillo “are not aligned with the traditional friendship bonds of cooperation and respect” between neighboring countries.When Mr. Castillo was elected in 2021 he vowed to end the kind of corruption that has led to the ousting of most of the Peruvian presidents in the last decade. Yet, it didn’t take long for corruption allegations to surface. They also involved the president’s family and allies. Hours before congress was due to vote to impeach Mr. Castillo, he announced he would shut it down and install a “government of exception.”The American ambassador to Peru, Lisa Kenna, quickly voiced her disapproval. “The United States categorically rejects any extra-constitutional act by President Castillo to prevent Congress from fulfilling its mandate,” Ms. Kenna wrote on her Twitter account. Ignoring Mr. Castillo’s intention, congress went ahead with its business. Of the 107 votes cast, 101 were in favor of removing the president from office. According to Peruvian media, Mr. Castillo then voluntarily gave himself up to the police. Shortly afterward, protests erupted across the country, and videos of clashes between the army and Castillo supporters, who have blocked main roads and airports, flooded social media. On Friday, the ministers of culture, Jair Perez Brañez, and of education, Patricia Correa, resigned their positions.Protests have also affected the country’s tourism industry. According to the mayor of the province of Cusco, where the world-renowned Machu Picchu is situated, there are about 5,000 tourists stranded in the city amid airport closures.On Saturday, Ms. Boluarte declared that she will not quit, and asked Congress to move elections forward, in an attempt to ease the protests. “What does my resignation solve?” Ms. Boluarte said. “We will stay here, firm, until Congress declares an advancement of elections.”

Get Set for the Battle of Peru

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