The governments of Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Argentina have issued a joint communiqué expressing their «deep concern» over the removal and arrest of Peru’s former president Pedro Castillo, calling on the Andean country’s institutions to respect «the will of its citizens at the ballot box».
According to the four countries, for the world «it is no news» that Castillo, from the day of his election, «was the victim of anti-democratic harassment, in violation of Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights», according to the letter, disseminated on social networks by the Mexican Government’s press office.
«Our governments call on all the actors involved in the previous process to prioritize the will of the citizens that was pronounced at the ballot box. This is the way to interpret the scope and meaning of the notion of democracy as set forth in the Inter-American Human Rights System», stated the Mexican, Colombian, Bolivian and Argentinean executives.
In this sense, they have exhorted the powers of the State to abstain from «reversing the popular will expressed by free suffrage», requesting in turn that they «fully respect the human rights of President Pedro Castillo and guarantee him judicial protection».
