President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that he will not attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit due to differences with the country of Peru.
Lopez Obrador has previously stated that the current government of Peru was installed by a coup d’état and that he still considers ousted president Pedro Castillo as the legitimate leader of the country.
Both countries have recalled their ambassadors following those comments.
It would not be the first time that Lopez Obrador has missed international meetings in the United States due to who else was invited or not invited. Last year he did not attend the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles because Nicaragua and Venezuela were not invited.
Leaders from across the Pacific Rim are scheduled to attend the 21-member APEC forum scheduled for Nov. 11-17. APEC is comprised of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
Lopez Obrador’s comments were the clearest indication yet that he does not recognize current Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
Boluarte took office in 2022 after then-President Castillo was impeached by Congress, which he tried to dissolve to avoid a vote on his impeachment. Castillo, who was Peru’s first president of rural Andean origin, was plagued by corruption scandals and a revolving-door cabinet.
In February, Boluarte recalled his country’s ambassador in response to Lopez Obrador’s comments, and Mexico’s ambassador was declared persona non grata.
Mexico’s formal position is that it neither recognizes nor denies recognition to the governments of other countries, but it has not explained how that policy squares with López Obrador’s statements.
TYT Newsroom