It was last week when the chancellor Antonia Urrejola received a call from his partner in Colombia, Alvaro Leyva. The authority -according to those who knew regarding the exchange- wanted to comment to the Secretary of State regarding an initiative that sought to reach a consensus with the progressive countries of the region: to make a gesture in favor of the now former president of Peru, Pedro Castillowho was removed by Congress on December 7.
After being arrested and accused of various crimes in his attempt to dissolve Congress in the context of the political crisis facing that country, the effort of Colombia -to which he also joined Mexico– ended with a declaration signed by those two countries, in addition to Bolivia and Argentina. In the document that was issued last Monday, the nations expressed their “deep concern” over the situation of Castillo, whom they still recognize as President of Peru, in addition to demanding that his human and judicial rights be respected. They also assured that he has been “victim of undemocratic harassment” since he assumed power in 2021 and called on the current authorities to “refrain from reversing the popular will expressed through free suffrage.”
Those who knew regarding the episode assure that the chancellor received the text proposed by her counterparts in the region, however, the response -which was previously discussed with President Gabriel Boric- would have been a resounding “no”.
The reasons are the same that made Chile take a cautious attitude towards the situation in Peru. In fact, the Foreign Ministry issued a public statement that was described as “warm” in the diplomatic world following the dismissal of Castillo in which they only stated “deep regret” the breakdown of the institutional order.
Around those hours, Minister Urrejola got on a plane to arrive in Brussels and sign the commitment to modernize the European Union Agreement. It was only when she landed that night, already with more clarity regarding the situation, that the portfolio he leads rightly condemned the events.
In the government they explain that Chile’s position should not lose sight of the fact that Peru is a neighboring country and that any signal might have harmful effects on that bilateral relationship. In fact, at the time of the coup headed by Castillo, a little over a week had passed since he visited Santiago and together with Boric committed to the realization of the Pacific Alliance on December 14, in Lima.
But unlike what Mexico has done – where they have rightly described what happened as a “soft hit” once morest Castillo and offered him asylum-, the Chilean government understands that the former President did not respect the institutional frameworks and, therefore, they cannot come to his defense either.
In an interview with True Lies, Foreign Minister Urrejola yesterday addressed the situation in Peru. “President Castillo… there are constitutional norms, there are rules of the game, and President Castillo did not respect those norms… understanding the context…”, said.
“Our position was also to seek a solution that was not only constitutional and institutional, but also democratic and with respect for human rights,” he added, although he did not want to delve into whether Castillo should be sentenced or receive asylum.
“It is not up to me as chancellor to pronounce on the accusations that President Castillo has. What does seem fundamental to us with a neighboring country is to be able to insist on the importance of the rule of law (…). Now, it is no mystery to anyone that Peru has had six different presidents in recent years, ”he said, while stressing that“ our position there should be to support the initiatives of the international community ”.