Mexico head declared ‘not welcome’
LIMA: Lawmakers in Peru voted on Thursday to declare Mexico’s leftist president unwelcome in the South American country, citing what they described as his meddling in Peru’s internal affairs and marking a deepening diplomatic split in the region.
The declaration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as “persona non grata” in Peru makes him the second Latin American leader to be slapped with this status.
Peru’s right-wing dominated House approved the largely symbolic declaration by a vote of 65 in favour and 40 against, after Mr Lopez Obrador derided Peru’s President Dina Boluarte as an illegitimate “usurper” after her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was ousted late last year.
She has also refused to hand over to the Mexican leader the rotating presidency of the Pacific Alliance trade bloc.
In February, lawmakers took the same action against Mr Lopez Obrador’s fellow leftist in Colombia, President Gustavo Petro, for similar criticisms of Ms Boluarte taking office and the handling of the country’s political crisis and subsequent social unrest.
Bolivia’s leftist former president Evo Morales has likewise joined in on the criticism, and has also been deemed persona non grata by Peru’s Congress.
Ms Boluarte was sworn in hours after Mr Castillo was removed from office and swiftly arrested, following his attempt to dissolve Congress and rule by decree. Raucous protests broke out and dozens were killed.
Rights groups have accused police and soldiers of using excessive force, and earlier on Thursday Amnesty International suggested that the indigenous backgrounds of most of those killed in protests suggested a racial bias.
Ms Boluarte has defended forces while accusing some protesters of violence, but she is also under a probe by prosecutors for her role in the killings.
Mr Lopez Obrador said earlier this week he would be “proud” if Peruvian lawmakers took such action against him.