Andrés Manuel López Obrador during a conference at the National Palace Sáshenka Gutiérrez (EFE)
President López Obrador has indicted the Peruvian government following yesterday’s expulsion of the Mexican ambassador to that country. This executive “is very questionable for its behavior, especially for its choice of repression rather than seeking a way out of the conflict in Peru through dialogue and with the democratic method of calling elections as soon as possible to avoid political instability. Tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent hours over Mexico’s decision to grant asylum to the family of deposed Peruvian President Pedro Castillo. At 7 a.m. that Wednesday, Castillo’s wife and children arrived in Mexico. The ambassador hasn’t arrived yet, but he will return shortly, “because they gave him 72 hours, they were crucial, like that, police-style, because that has nothing to do with democracy, right?” López Obrador started.
The President has reiterated that it is the “elites” who have prevented Castillo from governing, which has led the country into the institutional crisis it has plunged into. “It is groups of economic and political power and their personal ambitions that have led to arbitrary measures such as the ambassador’s declaration of persona non grata,” he stressed. In any case, the Mexican government has decided not to cut ties with Peru because “the embassy must be maintained to offer protection to the Mexicans living there,” López Obrador said. Most tourists have already been able to leave the country and the return of those who still want to do so is being processed. “You are not alone,” said the President.
Lilia Paredes, Arnold and Alondra Castillo at Mexico City Airport GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO
López Obrador has also spoken immoderately about the United States, whose government he lamented “for always talking about democracy and in this case, instead of demanding that the will of the people and the democratically elected president be respected, they supported them all the defiant maneuver of removing it”. It was asked why the Peruvian government did not make the same decision to the US-Mexico Embassy.
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo gave a televised speech on December 7 dissolving the Congress where a new motion of no confidence in him was to be debated that same afternoon, but he was not supported by his fellow believers, who described it as just after a coup . Castillo was arrested trying to reach the Mexican embassy and remains in prison today. Vice President Dina Boluarte took over the government of the country, as required by the Peruvian constitution, and since relations with Mexico have been strained, Boluarte has been unhappy with the president’s comments on the crisis. The malaise spread to the leaders of Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia, who also supported the ousted Castillo.
López Obrador has always maintained the dictate of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but on this occasion he uttered harsh words against what was happening in Peru. Today he slammed that government’s decision to delay elections until 2024, when they were scheduled for next year. “Why don’t they call elections immediately to choose a new president as long as there is an interim president for that purpose? So that people rationally and democratically expect the conflict to be resolved. Unfortunately, wanting to enforce the authorities with force using the army will create more suffering and instability,” he said. He was referring to the protests that have been unleashed in the country since December 7, which have already claimed more than 25 lives.
The president has insisted that Mexico “only stated its position” on the Peruvian conflict. “We will always defend the right to asylum, it is part of our foreign policy.” “That bothered her [al Gobierno peruano] that we do not recognize the President, but we never recognize foreign authorities, these matters belong to the people. This recognition of other governments, whether legal or usurped, is not common, and we have suffered on other occasions when the United States has had to recognize us.
And later, the President announced his intention to amend Article 33 of the Constitution so that no one can be expelled from Mexico, using the National Migration Institute for this purpose. The Interior Minister, Adán Augusto López, was in charge of presenting this matter. It states that the second paragraph of the article “was used with discretion to identify citizens as professors, ambassadors or researchers”. He has cited several cases in the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto and Felipe Calderón, including some singers such as Manu Chao or ETA terrorists. The government will propose reforming the article to guarantee foreigners a hearing before being expelled.
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