Montage of signatories of the statement in support of President Castillo with their respective country flags. From left to right: Presidents Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Gustavo Petro, Luis Arce and Alberto Fernández. Photo: Orinoco Tribune.
In a joint statement published this Monday, December 12, the governments of Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, and Bolivia expressed their support for the imprisoned President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, and called for Peru to respect democracy and honor the will of the people.
Through a statement issued officially by the Colombian Foreign Ministry, the governments of Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, and Bolivia expressed their “deep concern” over recent events that resulted in the removal and detention of President Pedro Castillo, whom they consistently referred to as “president of the Republic of Peru.” In a separate statement, Honduras expressed its support Castillo’s presidency.
Comunicado conjunto de Colombia, México, Argentina y Bolivia sobre golpe de Estado en Perú
👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/9k94wSk5f1— Carlos Montero (@CMonteroOficial) December 13, 2022
The signatories condemned the undemocratic harassment to which Castillo was subjected since his first day in office, stating that he was the “was the victim of undemocratic harassment,” in violation of Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights of the Costa Rica Pact approved on November 22, 1969.
In addition, Castillo was “subjected to judicial persecution,” the statement noted, in violation Article 25 of the same convention.
“Our governments call on all the actors involved in the previous process to prioritize the will of the citizens that was pronounced at the polls,” read the statement issued by the four countries. “This is the manner of interpreting the scope and senses of the notion of democracy contained in the Inter-American System of Human Rights.”
Similarly, they requested that those who constitute Peru’s institutions “refrain from reversing the popular will expressed through free suffrage” and that the authorities to “fully respect the human rights of President Pedro Castillo and guarantee him due process.”
President Castillo was removed from Peru’s parliament by the Congress of the republic last Wednesday, shortly after having dissolved the Congress by presidential decree, as permitted by Peru’s Constitution. Shortly thereafter, Castillo was detained by the police on the orders of the dissolved congresspersons, following his decision to use Article 134 of the Constitution and dismiss the Congress until new congressional elections could be held. Shortly after Castillo’s arrest, his former vice president, Dina Boluarte, was appointed as head of the coup government.
Pedro Castillo, who is a rural teacher from the northern region of Cajamarca, came to the presidency with popular support for his socialist campaign and promise to convene a Constitutional Assembly to rewrite Peru’s Constitution. The Congress of Peru, in which supporters of Castillo are the minority, has harassed him since before his inauguration, and the assumption of power by Boluarte has deepened the political crisis in Peru. Following the coup, mass mobilizations have spread across Peru, and at least seven demonstrators have been reported dead due to the subsequent police repression.
In a letter published this Monday from his cell, Castillo wrote of being “humiliated, incommunicado, mistreated, and kidnapped,” making it clear that he will not resign or abandon his duties. In addition, he described Boluarte as a “usurper,” warning the population not to fall for the “dirty game of early elections,” referring to the recent announcement by Boluarte that she would send a bill to Congress requesting new elections for April 2024, and not 2026 as she had initially stated.
AMLO taking a principled stand
This Tuesday, the president of Mexico pointed out that Pedro Castillo is the president of Peru. “The will of the people who elected him must be respected,” said the president.
López Obrador urged Peru’s coup regime “to recognize that (Castillo) won democratically and that he cannot be removed.” He added that the attempted motion of vacancy against President Castillo made by the Peruvian Congress, although it is a measure contemplated in the Peruvian Constitution, was essentially anti-democratic. This month, Congress was attempting its third such motion of vacancy since Castillo assumed the presidency last year.
The statements by the Mexican president came one day after he stated that his government does not recognize Dina Boluarte as Peruvian head of state.
The government of Honduras, in a statement issued last week by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, joined the chorus of Latin American nations denouncing the coup regime, and emphatically stated its refusal to recognize Boluarte as president of Peru: “we energetically condemn the coup d’état that has occurred in Peru, which is the result of a series of events intending to erode democracy and the sovereign will of the people, represented by President Pedro Castillo.”
(HispanTV) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
