Photo: LUIS GANDARILLAS / Getty Images
Peru’s relations with several Latin American countries with left-wing governments have soured since Dina Boluarte succeeded Pedro Castillo as president.
His young government has had diplomatic friction with Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Honduras, after the presidents of these countries questioned the imprisonment of former President Pedro Castillo or the actions of the Peruvian security forces in the face of protests in recent weeks.
But There is one country that stands out on the list of those that have faced the new power in Lima: neighboring Bolivia. The executives of both countries exchange reproaches and accusations on account of the political crisis in Peru.
In December, the Bolivian government signed a joint communiqué with Mexico, Argentina and Colombia in which it expressed “its deep concern” over the events that led to Castillo’s removal from power, whom they believe to be the victim of “undemocratic harassment.”
Last weekend, the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, said in an act with supporters: “We have the Peruvian people in a fight to recover their democracy and also to recover the right to elect a government that represents them.”
His words prompted a formal “strong protest” from the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, which accused the Bolivian government of “interference” in the internal affairs of Peru.
This Tuesday, in a meeting with foreign correspondents in Lima, President Boluarte accused the Bolivian group of the Ponchos Rojos of introducing weapons into Peru in the context of the protests.
And to former Bolivian President Evo Morales, one of the most notable critics of Boluarte’s management and the imprisonment of his predecessor, the Peruvian authorities they were banned from entering the country for having carried out “activities of a proselytizing political nature” there.
The same measure was imposed on eight other Bolivian citizens.
The tone has risen so much that a congressman from the Foreign Relations Commission of the Peruvian Legislature advocated a military intervention in Bolivia in the face of what he considers Bolivian support for “terrorists” in Peru.
Peru must give the Bolivian government an ultimatum to stop material and financial support to terrorists in Peru. Once the term has elapsed without solution, the Peruvian Army must enter Bolivia and cautiously occupy natural resources that guarantee further reparation.
— Ernesto Bustamante (@ErnesBustamante) January 22, 2023
Bolivia and Peru are two neighbors with close relations and deep ties, but according to Bolivian internationalist Andrés Guzmán they are experiencing “a tension with few precedents.”
What has brought you here?
The weight of Puno
The Puno region has been one of the epicenters of the Peruvian crisis.
Some of the most intense protests take place there, with the highest death toll in clashes between police and protesters.
The 19 deaths in the Puno city of Juliaca, amid complaints of the indiscriminate use of lethal ammunition by the Police against the locals, marked a milestone in the political conflict in Peru and aggravated the indignation of many against the Boluarte government.
Puno is a region closely connected to Bolivia, with which it borders.