Peru’s President-elect Fujimori says she wants to restore ties with Mexico

Keiko Fujimori has ‘every intention’ of ending the months-long rift with Mexico over its decision to grant political asylum to Castillo supporters.

Peru’s President-elect Keiko Fujimori has announced she wants to restore diplomatic relations with Mexico, a move that could end the months-long diplomatic rift between the two countries.

“On my part, there will be every intention to restore relations between Peru and Mexico,” said Fujimori, who won Peru’s presidential runoff on June 7, as she left a public event in Lima.

The rupture was announced in November, after Mexico granted political asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chavez.

She was part of the short-lived administration of left-wing President Pedro Castillo, who was elected during Peru’s last presidential race in 2021.

At the time, Castillo clashed repeatedly with Peru’s right-wing Congress, which attempted to impeach him.

Faced with a third impeachment hearing on December 7, 2022, Castillo delivered a televised address saying he would dissolve Congress and rule by decree instead.

That prompted the majority of his cabinet to quit, and it pushed Congress to go through with his impeachment and removal from office. Prosecutors accused Castillo of treason and rebellion, and last November, he was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.

Mexico, however, has said Castillo had planned to seek asylum at its embassy in Lima before his arrest. Shortly after his detention, the country granted asylum to Castillo’s family. Those moves have frayed relations with Peru.

Chavez was among the ministers who resigned during Castillo’s alleged coup attempt. She faced trial for her role in the events of December 2022, but she too sought and was granted asylum at the Mexican embassy last November.

Shortly after that, a Peruvian court issued a warrant for Chavez’s arrest, and she was sentenced to roughly 11 years in prison.

Peru accused Mexico of repeatedly interfering in its internal affairs by granting asylum to Castillo’s inner circle. It called the decision to grant Chavez asylum an “unfriendly act”.

It also declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum “persona non grata” and banned her from entering the country.

Mexico rejected the accusation, calling Peru’s decision to sever ties “excessive and disproportionate”. It has maintained that granting Chavez asylum is consistent with international law and Mexico’s longstanding asylum tradition.

Asked about Fujimori’s comments on Friday, President Sheinbaum responded cautiously, saying she had not yet spoken to the president-elect.

“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 been vocal supporters of Castillo, saying he was the one who was the victim of a coup.

Fujimori, a former first lady and daughter of Peruvian strongman Alberto Fujimori, narrowly lost to Castillo in the 2021 presidential race.

This year marked her fourth presidential bid — and her first successful one. She is set to be sworn in on July 28, Peru’s Independence Day.