Peru’s Foreign Minister resigns after differences with President Castillo

Peruvian Foreign Minister Miguel Rodríguez Mackay resigned “irrevocably” after a month in office and after showing differences in foreign policy with President Pedro Castillo.

He is the fourth head of Peruvian diplomacy to pass through the Foreign Ministry since President Castillo took office on July 28, 2021.

In a message published on Friday on the official Twitter account of the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, Rodríguez said that he made the decision “guided by his ways and convictions” after talking with Castillo.

But on Thursday, Castillo and his foreign minister got into a public dispute via Twitter when the president reported that he persisted in defending the sovereign self-determination of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a self-proclaimed state in Africa that controls a third of the Sahara. Occidental, which is mostly under the control of Morocco.

The presidential position confronted Rodríguez, who had broken off relations with the African state in mid-August, two weeks after taking office, and after speaking with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

Rodríguez’s decision went against a decision by the Castillo government, who exactly one year ago, on September 9, 2021, had restarted relations with the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. Bilateral relations had been broken since 1996, when then-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori ruled.

Likewise, the resigning foreign minister had expressed other differences with his predecessors. He was also against the Escazú Agreement: the most relevant environmental treaty for Latin America that grants greater protection to environmental defenders. For this agreement to enter into force, it must first be ratified by Congress and then be deposited at the United Nations headquarters.

At the moment, Castillo has not commented on the resignation of the chancellor.

_{*With information from the Associated Press.}

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