Pedro Castillo wants to strengthen Celac and reactivate Unasur | Keys to the foreign policy of Peru’s new government

From Lima

An “open and democratic” foreign policy that favors regional integration, strengthening of organizations such as Celac and the Andean Group, and the reactivation of Unasur, announced the new Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Héctor Béjar upon taking office on Monday. In his first speech as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he said that “Autonomy and independence will be an essential principle of the new Peruvian diplomacy, Decisions will be taken according to our interests, which are the collective expression of the nation, and not the interests of others ”. It is a statement that announces a change in a foreign policy which in recent times has been challenged by its dependence on Washington.

Straight white

The new Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, an 85-year-old sociologist, is a former left-wing activist who participated in the Guevarista guerrillas of the 1960s. He is a renowned intellectual and university professor. His long guerrilla past and his long left activism made him a target of the right, which demands his departure from the cabinet with an openly McCarthyist speech that has become hegemonic in the media. The right wants a foreign minister aligned with American foreign policy, who is dedicated to condemning Cuba and Venezuela, who forgets UNASUR and regional integration. Béjar does not fit into this profile. That is why they are pushing for their exit.

The Chancellor stressed that his administration will work to strengthen regional integration and cooperation “without ideological distinctions”. “Latin America – he clarified – is and will be the geographic and sociological priority of foreign policy. It is our immediate, territorial, historical, economic, social and cultural environment. The space of our own history. We will withdraw from Congress Peru’s request to denounce the treaty instituted by Unasur. On the contrary, we will promote its reconstitution and modernization, as an organ of cooperation and consultation which affirms the identity of South America in this globalized world. We will vigorously reintegrate the Peruvian presence in Celac, we will work to strengthen it and we will increase its capacity for action, ”he declared. He also announced a policy of “upgrading” and “modernizing” the Andean Community, made up of Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.

Distance from Lima Group

He didn’t mention the Lima Group, formed to promote the fall of the Venezuelan government and become an international spokesperson for the opposition to that country’s regime, which Peru has enthusiastically integrated into previous governments, but has been clear in stressing that the new government will be guided by the principle of “non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries” and that within this framework, it will seek to contribute to the dialogue between the various Venezuelan sectors and not to the confrontation with the government of that country. A clear distance from the Lima Group.

“We will contribute with the countries of Europe which are already working there and with a group of Latin American countries to understand the different political tendencies that exist in Venezuela without intervening in their internal politics”, he announced, revealing the intention of a merger. to the Contact Group which, unlike the Lima Group, engaged in confrontation, seeks dialogue between all parties to the Venezuelan conflict, “We will promote democratic renewal in Venezuela, that the social rights of Venezuelans are respected. Take into account the fact that in Venezuela there is a universal social security system and a universal education system, ”he stressed, to the scandal of the right.

In one of his first actions as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Béjar met with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and expressed his intention to improve relations between the two countries. The one on the right jumped to his neck. Béjar replied calmly that his task is to improve relations “with all countries”, which he has met and will continue to do with the various foreign ministers, an essential part of his work. During a brief meeting with the media, They asked him if he would meet the ambassador in Lima of the ghostly government of Juan Guaidó, recognized by previous Peruvian governments. “I don’t know who this man is, I don’t know him,” he replied wryly.

He was adamant in condemning the blockades, such as those suffered by Cuba and Venezuela, although he did not directly mention these countries when raising this issue. “We condemn the blockades, the embargoes and the unilateral sanctions which affect only the people”, he declared in his speech with which he made his debut as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

President Pedro Castillo stressed that his priority is the fight against the pandemic and vaccination, and Béjar indicated that this will be transferred to foreign policy promoting initiatives at the regional level “to establish agreements and common strategies”. “South America and Latin America – he affirmed – have an unpaid debt towards their peoples to articulate a common and responsible action in the regional fight against covid-19. Our countries have an ethical obligation to cooperate in this fight, regardless of government orientations ”.

At the start of his administration, the Chancellor stressed that the defense of human rights, economic and social rights, indigenous peoples, sexual minorities, gender equality policies, the defense of the environment, will be a central element of the new Peruvian foreign policy.