MEXICO/PERU: Tensions between the two leaders escalated over the disputed removal of Peru’s former president in the latter half of last year, leading Peruvian President Dina Boluarte to sharply criticize her Mexican counterpart as “very ignorant” on Friday.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the president-elect of Mexico, expressed earlier on Friday that he does not wish to maintain commercial or trade links with the country as long as Boluarte remains in office, though he did not specify any specific actions he would take.
Boluarte has faced regular criticism of being unqualified by the vocal Mexican leftist. In response to what they perceived as his interference in their domestic affairs, Peruvian MPs had previously declared that Mexico’s president was not welcome in the South American nation.
Mexico’s president intensified his rhetoric in support of Lopez Obrador’s assertion that Pedro Castillo, the former president of the South American country, was imprisoned and removed from office in violation of the constitution.
He stated that he does not desire to engage in business or trade links with the country unless there is democratic normalcy. Boluarte, in response to reporters in Lima, characterized the level of intelligence among Mexicans as “very ignorant.”
Castillo, a former rural schoolteacher, has been in office for 17 months, and Lopez Obrador has consistently shown his support for him. On Friday, Mexico indicated its willingness to hand over the rotating chair of the Pacific Alliance trade bloc to Chile, but it has explicitly stated that it will not give it to Peru. The two Latin American countries already have strained diplomatic ties.
In response to Lopez Obrador’s criticism of Castillo’s removal, Boluarte’s administration requested the expulsion of Mexico’s ambassador to Lima. Boluarte, in turn, announced the recall of the country’s ambassador to Mexico, following Lopez Obrador’s accusations that her administration violated the constitution. Peru’s Congress has also labeled Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, as “persona non grata” for making similar criticisms of Boluarte.
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