Mexico: Despite "coup," Castillo legal president of Peru

Mexico's president says Pedro Castillo remains “the legal and legitimate president” of Peru and that he was jailed as part of a "coup."

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Mexico’s president said Wednesday that Peru's ousted president, Pedro Castillo, remains “the legal and legitimate president” of that country and that he was jailed as part of a “coup.”

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also claimed Peru’s current government is “racist” and had jailed Castillo because he is indigenous. The comments were the most forceful indication yet that López Obrador doesn’t recognize current Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.

“I maintain that he (Castillo) is the legal and legitimate president,” López Obrador said at his morning press briefing. “He suffered a coup.”

“They won't accept Pedro Castillo because he is from the mountains, he is indigenous,” the president said.

Boluarte took office on Dec. 7 after then-President Castillo was removed by Parliament and jailed after trying to dissolve Congress to avoid a vote on his removal from office. Castillo, who was Peru’s first leader from a rural Andean background, was plagued by corruption scandals and a revolving-door cabinet.

López Obrador’s administration has not said that it would withdraw formal recognition of Boluarte's government. But relations between the two countries have suffered because of the Mexican president’s stance.

In February, Boluarte withdrew her country’s ambassador in response to previous comments by López Obrado.

Mexico's formal position is that it neither ‘recognizes’ nor withholds recognition from other countries' governments, but has not explained how that policy squares with López Obrador's statements.

Street protests in Peru against Castillo's removal began in December and have been answered by police actions that have left 67 dead overall, mostly protesters, according to Peru’s ombudsman.

While López Obrador has slammed the killing of protesters in Peru, he has been criticized for saying little about the hundreds of Nicaraguans killed or exiled by the government of President Daniel Ortega.

Street protests have engulfed Peru since Dec. 7 when former President Pedro Castillo, Peru’s first leader from a rural Andean background, was impeached and imprisoned after he tried to dissolve Congress last month.

His vice president, Dina Boluarte, then became president but protesters, mostly from rural areas, have demanded her resignation. Boluarte has said she won’t resign until her successor is elected.

The Puno region has seen especially intense protests, including one on Jan. 9 in which 18 civilians were killed.

Following the latest unrest, videos broadcast by local television stations showed groups of protesters carrying, clothing, and feeding soldiers who had been rescued from the river and were shivering from the cold.

Samuel Canazas, a farmer and father of deceased soldier Franz Canazas, told La República newspaper that “the usurper president Dina Boluarte was to blame.”

The protests that began in December have left 67 dead overall, mostly protesters, according to Peru’s ombudsman.

Perú sumó 67 muertos durante las manifestaciones que exigen la renuncia de la presidenta Dina Boluarte y los miembros del Congreso luego de que un manifestante —quien quedó herido en enero con 36 perdigones durante una protesta en una ciudad del sur— falleciera el martes en un hospital capitalino.