The moment of truth

In an article I recently read in the

, Andrés Oppenheimer tells the exact truth about the Peruvian case.

And he exposes the small conspiracy of the elected presidents of Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Honduras and Colombia to produce a coup that would put an end to Peruvian democracy.

Of course, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua participate in this conspiracy, but they are not "democratic", especially Cuba, which has not allowed free elections on the island for more than 60 years.

So all three cannot be included in this statistic.

What is the truth about the Peruvian case?

Very simple.

The Peruvian-elected president, Pedro Castillo, delivered a “speech” on December 7, using the national radio and television circuit, pretending to carry out a coup, modeled on the one given by Alberto Fujimori 30 years ago.

In that speech, which millions of Peruvians heard, the head of state then said that he was expelling all parliamentarians and announcing future elections to replace Congress with a parliamentary Assembly, something that Peruvian law considers abnormal and illegal.

He also declared the Prosecutor's Office and the judiciary in “reorganization” (that is, he dissolved them).

Congress, quickly assembled, removed the president and his honor guard immediately handed him over to the police, instead of taking him to the Mexican Embassy,

where President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had offered him asylum.

Since then, Pedro Castillo has been imprisoned by court order, awaiting trial, for the crime of having attempted a coup d'état, something that the Peruvian military opposed, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws, and remained inside. of legality.

The parliamentarians appointed, to replace the president, the vice president, Dina Boluarte, a member of the same party as President Castillo, who has declared herself a "Marxist-Leninist" on several occasions.

She has offered to hold elections within a year and Congress has already approved the advance in the first instance, something that is perfectly constitutional.

So Peruvians will have a new head of state elected in just over 12 months, according to the law.

Here the "elected presidents" of neighboring nations, that is, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia and Honduras, begin to show their claws.

According to them, President Castillo did not attempt a coup d'etat and is imprisoned because of the "right-wing" parties that would have put together "this conspiracy."

Where do these presidents get this absurd and foolish story from?

It is not known where, but there is the accusation, apparently born from the Mexican president, López Obrador, who has taken the Castillo family to his country and who endlessly repeats such slander.

And it is unfortunate that several countries imitate him in this invented theory, according to which President Castillo would be the victim of a machination of the Peruvian right.

This same fantasy has caught on among certain groups of the Peruvian extreme left who, attacking cities and airports, have burned a policeman alive and have provoked clashes with the forces of order that have left almost 60 dead among Peruvians.

President Dina Boluarte has assured that the judiciary will examine all these deaths, to implicate those responsible, while public opinion has demanded that this investigation be carried out by the judiciary as soon as possible.

The president, for now, baffled with the statements of her former colleagues, must have already gotten rid of her ideological definitions.

It is stupid to say that the right has carried out all this pantomime to finish off Pedro Castillo.

All Peruvians heard that speech in which Castillo arrogated extraordinary powers and sent parliamentarians, prosecutors and judges to his house.

The only thing that didn't work out for him is that the military didn't support him, and that his honor guard, instead of taking him to the Mexican Embassy, ​​turned him over to the police.

This is more or less the thesis that, after a meticulous investigation, Andrés Oppenheimer reveals in the

, and the one that several million Peruvians would subscribe without objection.

There will be elections within a year and Peruvians will have a new president according to the laws and the Constitution, which the Army has respected, I think for the first time in our history.

Where does the delusional fantasy that Pedro Castillo has been "kidnapped" by the right wing come from?

Enraged, López Obrador, the Mexican president, nobody knows why, has invented together with the Colombian president all this hoax that the Peruvian people and his government have rejected with the utmost energy.

Mr. López Obrador would do well to deal with the problems of Mexico, where the murders are repeated every day.

Peruvians regret that the young Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, has lent himself to this farce and has supported López Obrador's ridiculous accusations that the fall of Pedro Castillo is an operation "of the Peruvian right."

He had been very prudent until now and had kept to the strict legality.

While the Colombian Gustavo Petro can tell the lies we know, Boric had kept a strict discretion that he has now broken.

What has made you change your mind?

It is a regrettable act that the Peruvian people will not forget.

The truth is that the fall of President Pedro Castillo will not be mourned by many Peruvians.

Since his election, the blunders of this character who was ignorant of the most elementary things in Peru had provoked the indignation and anger of different sectors.

Among other atrocities, he wanted to put an end to mining to highlight the national ecology.

The poor man was unaware that if Peru ever achieves efficiency and figures among the prosperous countries of this world, it will be due to mining.

This gives more or less an idea of ​​the intellectual qualities of the character that, in a controversial decision, the Peruvians chose to put him at the head of the State.

His unpopularity had reached 70%, more or less, of the Peruvian population, and those horrifying figures were yet to increase.

Castillo's coup attempt has put an end to the very foolish election that led him to the Government Palace.

For this reason, I firmly believe that it is not enough that there are "free elections" in third world countries, but that those called to vote do it well, that is, in favor of democracy and progress, because if they vote badly, In favor of a dictator, for example, who fills his pockets and does not work to raise the levels of society, the situation will worsen, which means hundreds or thousands of abandoned families.

Let's hope that in these next elections Peruvians will vote better than last time.

in favor of democracy and progress, because if they vote badly, in favor of a dictator, for example, who fills his pockets and does not work to raise the levels of society, the situation will worsen, which means hundreds or thousands of abandoned families.

Let's hope that in these next elections Peruvians will vote better than last time.

in favor of democracy and progress, because if they vote badly, in favor of a dictator, for example, who fills his pockets and does not work to raise the levels of society, the situation will worsen, which means hundreds or thousands of abandoned families.

Let's hope that in these next elections Peruvians will vote better than last time.

The problem is not in Peru, but in all of Latin America.

And from the third world in general.

The surprising thing is that in this day and age, countries can choose to be poor or to be prosperous.

Therefore, it is imperative that third world countries abandon socialist fantasies.

Where has socialism triumphed?

In Latin America we have seen the case of Venezuela, which could not be more dramatic.

Is not the case of Cuba truly pathetic?

60 years ago I was one of the enthusiasts for the Cuban Revolution.

Since then, it has been getting worse and millions of Cubans are now around the world, looking for work and trying to organize lives for which there is neither occupation nor improvement in their own country.

Isn't this sad?

Hopefully the next time they vote, Latin Americans take this into account.

© Mario Vargas Llosa, 2022. Press rights in Spanish in Spain and Latin America reserved for Ediciones EL PAÍS, SL, 2022. Press rights in Spanish for other territories and for other languages, reserved for Mario Vargas Llosa c/ o Carmen Balcells Literary Agency, SA. 

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