The Peruvian government announced the application of a measure against former Bolivian President Evo Morales for allegedly promoting protests against the mandate of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, as announced by its Prime Minister, Alberto Otárola.
“We are going to energetically use the mechanisms of our direct diplomacy and the administrative sanctioning mechanisms,” Otárola declared on Sunday in the newspaper Peru 21. He said that “there will be a response very soon” and that “it will be expressed in an energetic way” that Peru cannot allow foreigners to have an interfering attitude.
Some politicians and leaders in Peru question the participation of Morales and his entourage in meetings with groups opposed to the Boluarte government in Puno, a region in southern Peru bordering Bolivia.
Criticism grows in the face of secessionist initiatives by some groups, which propose that southern Peru separate as a separate state.
“An administrative response from Migrations is not enough. (…) We are not going to allow any president, ex-president, leader or person to interfere in the affairs of Peru, especially affecting the legitimate rights of Peruvians,” said the Prime Minister.
Peruvian Foreign Minister Ana Gervasi was summoned to Congress for this Monday on this matter. According to the agenda of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Parliament, Gervasi had to give an account of the bilateral relations with Bolivia, the irregular migratory flow of Bolivians through the Puno region and the position of his sector regarding “the secessionist idea contemplated in the decalogue (of the block) Runasur, promoted by Mr. Juan Evo Morales Ayma, basically in the south of our country”.
Conservative congressman Jorge Montoya filed a criminal complaint against Morales, whom he accuses of promoting the separation of a part of Peru and demands that his entry into the country be prevented. His bench colleague, José Cueto, asks that the former Bolivian president be captured.
Morales alleges that he supports the request of a sector of Peruvians who wants a new Constitution and that this is not undue interference.
“We are sister countries and we will be neighbors for life. Sharing experiences of a Constituent Assembly to refound the country and consolidate sovereignty with equality, inclusion and solidarity is not interventionism. The insurrection is not resolved with a partial reform of the Constitution, ”he replied on Twitter.
The protests against the Boluarte government continue in a new phase, after resuming after a partial truce for the Christmas holidays. The seizure is more intense in southern Peru.
The protesters demand the resignation of the president, the closure of Congress and new elections. Some also demand that Pedro Castillo, Boluarte’s predecessor who was deposed, is imprisoned and is being investigated for alleged rebellion, be released.
Boluarte took office after Castillo, who had been president since 2021, was ousted by Congress after trying to dissolve the legislature on December 7. Boluarte was vice president and was elected on the same list with her predecessor. Parliament swore her in as her constitutional successor.
These events sparked protests in Peru that have left more than 20 dead and hundreds injured.
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