Image credit  /  El País

By Roberto Morejón

The crisis in Peru, handled with repressive dyes by the army and the police, acquired new edges due to the pronouncements of the new government, headed by President Dina Boluarte, in relation to Mexico and Colombia.

In the midst of a sharp response against demonstrators demanding early elections and protesting the overthrow of former president Pedro Castillo, the new authorities consider the regional concern about what happened in Peru as an interference in their affairs.

Although Boluarte authorized the safe-conduct to the family of the deposed Head of State to travel to Mexico as asylum seekers, he later declared the ambassador persona non grata, an unusual extreme.

The Mexican government supported the former Peruvian leader as an elected dignitary to whom it offered asylum, after he was abruptly removed from office by what the Congress, dominated by the right wing and accused of corruption, described as a self-coup.

It was noteworthy that, in addition to taking action against Mexico, the Foreign Ministry in Lima delivered a note to the Colombian embassy, in which it expressed its displeasure with statements made by President Gustavo Petro, who expressed his support for enabling a social and political dialogue in Peru.

He contrasted the acid response of the new rulers in Peru with respect to Mexico and Colombia with their complacency with the role of the United States.

The Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, pointed out that the United States appears "very prominent" in the events in Peru.

The ambassador of that nationality hastened to recognize the decision of the right-wing Congress to depose Castillo and during the repression in streets and towns, she went to the Palace to see the new President.

Experts recalled that the action of the uniformed forces in Peru left 27 dead, more than 300 wounded and the forced observance of the curfew.

A harsh response to the demonstrators, considered as terrorist insurgents by the new head of the National Intelligence Directorate, Colonel Juan Liendo O'Connor.

That label was followed by the military justice system's decision not to investigate gun murders during the violence of the last two weeks.

It is not clear whether the current rulers in Peru are aware that with the advancement of the elections to 2024, long after the date demanded in the streets, popular unrest will persist.