Peru News and Links

Government of Honduras retweets statement by Pedro Castillo Amid worsening relations between the governments of Peru and Honduras, a communique by deposed Peruvian President Pedro Castillo Terrones was posted today on the Government of Honduras official Twitter account . The posting follows Peru's recalling its ambassador to Honduras for what it called "unacceptable interference." Peru's President Dina Boluarte (top) and Honduras' President Xiomara Castro (bottom) (Reuters photos) The step is part of a deepening division between Peru President Dina Boluarte and her regional peers, including the leftist leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Honduras. At a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Argentina earlier this week, Honduran President Xiomara Castro called Boluarte's ascension to power a "coup d'état." The deteriorating relationship between Peru and Honduras i...

Peru’s violent unrest shows no signs of stopping (full article) Protests after the arrest of former President Pedro Castillo emphasize Peru’s deep stratification. Ellen Ioanes Protests in Peru related to the arrest of former President Pedro Castillo have become increasingly violent, leading to many deaths, and show no real signs of abating. Despite the unprecedented political violence and calls for her resignation, Castillo’s successor and former Vice President, President Dina Boluarte, refused on Sunday to step down, saying, “My commitment is with Peru.” In the just-over a month since the protests began, 49 people, including children and police officers have been killed, the Associated Press reported Friday. Demonstrations are concentrated in Peru’s southern Andean area, particularly in the region of Puno, Peru’s poorest and which has the highest Indigenous concentration, and in the cities of Ayacucho and Arequipa, among others, though they have also occurred in the capital Lima as re...

A Crisis in Peru Signals Trouble for South America (full article) The political showdown in the country — a president in jail and thousands of protesters in the streets — could herald a new era of instability across the region. (audio)  A few weeks ago, when President Pedro Castillo of Peru attempted an illegal power grab and ended up in jail, the response was unexpected: Thousands of protesters took to the streets to support him, and some died. Why does such a divisive leader have such fierce backing? And what does the upheaval in Peru tell us about the way the political winds are blowing in South America? (more)  

Peru crisis: Family of ousted leader Castillo leaves for Mexico (full article) By George Wright & Vanessa Buschschlüter The family of Peru's ousted President Pedro Castillo has left Peru for Mexico after the latter offered them asylum. Mr. Castillo remains in detention in Peru. Peru's foreign minister had earlier granted Mr. Castillo's wife and children safe passage from the Mexican embassy in Lima to the airport. The Mexican ambassador to Lima also departed on board the same plane after Peru had ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours. Tags: #Peru #Mexico #Pedro Castillo #Asylum  

Government Declares Mexican Ambassador in Peru Persona Non Grata The foreign minister pointed out that this decision was made due to the "repeated expressions of the highest authorities of that country about the political situation in Peru, which constitute interference in our internal affairs." In the midst of the asylum granted to the family of former President Pedro Castillo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ana Cecilia Gervasi, announced that the Government declared the Mexican Ambassador to Peru, Pablo Monroy, persona non grata for the "repeated expressions of the most high authorities of that country on the political situation in Peru, which constitute interference in our internal affairs and, therefore, are in violation of the principle of non-intervention”. At a press conference, the foreign minister said that Ambassador has been given a diplomatic note to notify him that he has 72 hours to leave Peru. “This decision has been taken based on the pertinent provisio...

Peru’s Failed Presidential Coup Sparks Democratic Crisis (full article)   Protesters see the president’s dismissal as a power grab by an unpopular Congress. Nick Aspinwall, Alicia Chen Supporters of former President Pedro Castillo hold a blockade on a highway at the entrance of Abancay, Peru, on Dec. 19. CUSCO, Peru—Pedro Castillo’s ouster as Peru’s president on Dec. 7 initially appeared to be just another act in the long-running political drama that has seen six Peruvian presidents take the stage in less than five years. The left-wing leader, whose approval rating had been around 20 percent, had brazenly, and illegally, tried to dissolve Peru’s Congress to stave off a third attempt at impeaching him after surviving the first two, drawing widespread condemnation for undermining the constitution. Hours later, the legislature impeached him anyway, and he was arrested for “breaching constitutional order.” Yet in the aftermath of Castillo’s attempted self-coup, Peruvians have reac...

Peru’s Turmoil Doesn’t Have to Be Latin America’s Future (full article) Analysis by Eduardo Porter (full article) You might forgive people puzzling over the political turmoil that has overtaken Peru. By standard economic metrics, the country was an undisputed regional success. Its economy grew by 4.5% a year, on average, in the decade before being walloped by the coronavirus. That is almost four times the average across South America.  Until the advent of the pandemic, poverty declined consistently and even inequality abated somewhat. Though the economy suffered a disastrous 2020, it rebounded sharply last year, growing by a whopping 13.6%.  And yet former president José Pedro Castillo is now sitting in prison, having been impeached and removed from office by a Congress that he had tried to dissolve just hours before. Police have been deployed to suppress street protests by Castillo’s supporters while his successor and former vice president, Dina Boluarte, has put the country ...

 Opinion: What is Behind the Support for Pedro Castillo and that Lima Doesn't Want to Understand by Francesca Emanuele Neither the broken promises nor the signs of corruption and not even the attempted coup have been reasons for many of Castillo's supporters to turn their backs on him. The former president has ceased to represent expectations of change, but he still symbolizes —today more than ever— structural discrimination in Peru. In Lima, the political, economic, and intellectual elites are intrigued. They continue to seek an explanation for the large number of Peruvians who protest to demand the freedom of Pedro Castillo. And a greater bewilderment is caused by the smaller group that demands the restitution of the president's vacancy. It is understandable that the ruling classes are disoriented. They have been disconnected from the rest of the country for decades. They move comfortably through a notorious Lima apartheid, reproducing dynamics that accentuate their incli...

Protesters in Peru Demand Justice for Ousted President Pedro Castill (full article) Eight days after Pedro Castillo’s removal from office and arrest, thousands of his supporters have joined protests demanding his reinstatement. To them, he is the voice of the marginalized. Julie Turkewitz and Mitra Taj LIMA, Peru — Outside a detention center at the foot of the Andes Mountains, a camp has formed in recent days, with as many as 1,000 people traveling hundreds of miles to demand freedom for the highest-profile detainee: their former president, Pedro Castillo. They will stay until he is reinstated, said one supporter, Milagros Rodriguez, 37, or until “civil war begins.” Mr. Castillo, a former schoolteacher, and union activist who promised to fight for the poor, is the man at the center of Peru’s dizzying political drama, having been removed from office last week after he tried to dissolve Congress and create a government that would rule by decree. Within hours he was under arrest, accused ...