MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pacific Alliance in havoc; the group's summit re scheduled for second half of 2023

Since then the Pacific Alliance is paralyzed, particularly given the street demonstrations loyal to Castillo and the decision to advance the Peruvian election to 2024

The Pacific Alliance, the trade group made up of Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico is in havoc following the political and social situation in Peru, where president Pedro Castillo has been arrested following his attempt to close down congress.

The Alliance was supposed to hold its summit in Mexico in the last week of November, but the Peruvian congress denied president Castillo permission to travel, when he was supposed to take the chair of the group for the next six months.

Faced with the situation the Mexican president Manuel Andres Lopez Obrador suspended the event and agreed together with Chile's Gabriel Boric and Colombia's Gustavo Petro, and Castillo, to re schedule the summit for December 14. But a week before the Peruvian president Castillo decided to close congress triggering the institutional situation that had him replaced by vice president Dina Boluarte.

Since then the Pacific Alliance is paralyzed, particularly given the street demonstrations in certain areas loyal to Castillo and the decision to advance the Peruvian election to 2024. “All is in suspense” until a new normality can be achieved, is the reply from Alliance officials.

In the meantime one of the proposals from Mexico and Colombia is to have Chile take over the presidency of the group leaving out Peru. But the new Peruvian government said it was point blank against the proposal and demanded a few days to iron out the internal situation.

But circumstances are not entirely clear from the moment a diplomatic rift has occurred between the current Peruvian government and Mexico since Lopez Obrador decided to grant political asylum to the family of Castillo, to which Lima responded by expulsing the Mexican ambassador. Thus all members have agreed to freeze the current situation and wait for the Peruvian scenario to improve. Be that the case the summit of the Pacific Alliance would take place in the second half of next year.