Fujimori seeks to restore Peru's relations with Mexico
Peru's president-elect said she intends to repair ties after a dispute over Mexico's asylum for former officials linked to Pedro Castillo.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Peru’s President-elect Keiko Fujimori said she wants to re-establish diplomatic relations with Mexico, raising the prospect of ending a dispute that has kept the two countries at odds for months. Al Jazeera, Reuters and The Associated Press reported that the rift centers on Mexico’s asylum decisions for figures linked to former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo.
Fujimori, who won Peru’s June 7 presidential runoff, made the comment as she left a public event in Lima. “On my part, there will be every intention to restore relations between Peru and Mexico,” she said, according to Al Jazeera.
Fujimori is due to take office on July 28, Peru’s Independence Day, Al Jazeera reported. Her victory came on her fourth run for the presidency after she narrowly lost to Castillo in 2021.
Asylum dispute drove the break
Peru severed relations with Mexico in November after Mexico granted political asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chavez, according to Al Jazeera. Chavez served in Castillo’s brief administration and later faced proceedings tied to the political crisis of December 2022.
Castillo, a left-wing leader elected in 2021, repeatedly clashed with Peru’s right-wing Congress, which tried to impeach him, Al Jazeera reported. On December 7, 2022, facing a third impeachment hearing, he said in a televised address that he would dissolve Congress and govern by decree.
Most of Castillo’s cabinet quit after that announcement, according to Al Jazeera. Congress then impeached and removed him, and prosecutors accused him of treason and rebellion. Al Jazeera reported that Castillo was sentenced last November to more than 11 years in prison.
Mexico has said Castillo intended to seek refuge at its embassy in Lima before he was arrested, according to Al Jazeera. Mexico later gave asylum to Castillo’s family, a decision that strained relations with Peru.
Chavez was among the ministers who resigned during Castillo’s alleged coup attempt, Al Jazeera reported. She later sought and received asylum at the Mexican embassy; after that, a Peruvian court issued an arrest warrant, and she was sentenced to roughly 11 years in prison, according to Al Jazeera.
Mexico gives cautious response
Peru accused Mexico of interfering in its domestic affairs through asylum grants to people close to Castillo, according to Al Jazeera. Peru called the Chavez asylum decision an “unfriendly act,” declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum persona non grata and barred her from entering the country.
Mexico rejected Peru’s accusation and described the break in relations as excessive and disproportionate, Al Jazeera reported. Mexico has said its decision to grant Chavez asylum fits international law and the country’s asylum tradition.
Asked Friday about Fujimori’s remarks, Sheinbaum said she had not yet spoken with the president-elect, according to Al Jazeera. “We are going to wait,” Sheinbaum told reporters. “They broke off relations. Why? Because we said that [former] President Castillo is being held illegally. That is our point of view.”
Sheinbaum and her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, have supported Castillo publicly, saying he was the target of a coup, according to Al Jazeera. Fujimori, a former first lady and daughter of former Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori, is preparing to assume office as the next test of the relationship begins.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.