Tensions between Mexico and Peru continue to rise. The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs regretted the decision of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte to withdraw her ambassador from Mexico City this Saturday morning. “The Mexican government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regrets the decision of the current government of the Republic of Peru to reduce the level of diplomatic relations between the two countries to the level of the chargé d’affaires and to definitively withdraw Ambassador Manuel Gerardo Talavera, who called for consultations on December 15, 2022 was made,” the Mexican government said in a statement.
Boluarte announced the withdrawal of his diplomat on Friday night, arguing that Mexico is speaking out on internal issues through President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, questioning the democratic origins of the Peruvian government and “supporting former President Pedro Castillo’s coup d’etat”. . Boluarte has been President of Peru since December 7, 2022, after Castillo was arrested by decree in an attempted coup following the dissolution of the Peruvian Congress. Since then, López Obrador has harshly criticized the new Peruvian president. That same week, he called her a “fake president” and refused to hand over the presidency of the Pacific Alliance to that country, an act planned for this year under the Chile-Colombia-Mexico-Peru Trade Integration Mechanism.
“Nevertheless, they rule with bayonets and with repression, with violence. More than 60 have already been murdered, and in the same polls, the majority of the people of Peru are calling for elections to be called so that the people can decide,” López Obrador said this week about the political situation in Peru. The Mexican’s comments were the reason why the Peruvian government decided to scale back ties. “With his statements, Mr. López violates the principle of non-interference under international law in internal affairs as well as those related to the defense and promotion of democracy,” Boluarte argued when announcing that bilateral relations would be reduced to those responsible for business.
The Mexican government added in its statement that it will keep its diplomatic team in Lima and will not in any way close the communication channels with the Andean country. “[El Gobierno de México] she hopes that a democratic settlement will soon be reached on the differences that prevail in this Latin American sister country,” the State Department added in the press release. So far, both countries have no ambassadors, although their diplomatic missions continue to operate in Lima and Mexico City.
Peru expelled Mexico’s ambassador Pablo Monroy in December after he offered his support to Castillo after the failed coup. Castillo tried to reach the Mexican embassy in the Peruvian capital but was stopped on the way to the embassy. Later, the Mexican government offered refuge to the former Peruvian president’s family and considered the possibility of granting Castillo political asylum. The new Peruvian government viewed Monroy’s actions as “interference” on the part of Mexico and gave him 72 hours to leave the country.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly over the past three months. After Castillo left the government, President López Obrador declared that relations were “on hiatus,” a term that has no basis in international law and cannot be considered part of Mexico’s foreign policy. Although the North American country upholds non-interference and self-determination of peoples as diplomatic principles and opposes states that decide the form of government of other countries, López Obrador, through the so-called Estrada Doctrine, has raised the tone of your comments on the political situation in Peru.
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