Andean Region, Politics

Peru Backs OAS-Led Solution to Venezuela Crisis

Peru’s government is backing an Organization of American States-led solution to the political crisis that has gripped Venezuela, Premier Rene Cornejo said.

Cornejo, appointed to lead President Ollanta Humala’s cabinet last Monday, replaces Cesar Villanueva as the fifth premier in Humala’s two-year-old administration. Cornejo was previously the housing minister.

“We favor the OAS  mechanisms,” said Cornejo, according to daily El Comercio. “This means an interaction between the different members of the OAS in order to reach an effective solution.”

Cornejo added that Peru’s representative to the OAS, Juan Jimenez, is contributing to the regional body’s solution presentation on the conflict. Jimenez was Premier prior to Villanueva.

Opposition politicians in Peru have been calling on the Humala administration to take a stronger stance against the Venezuelan government over the escalation of violence in that country. The government has issued a statement saying that it is concerned about the conditions in Venezuela, but like many other Latin American nations, it has not taken other actions.

Prior to his election in 2011, President Humala and his backers were close to President Chavez of Venezuela, when Chavez attempted to lead Latin America and had the support of Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, Bolivia’s Evo Morales and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega (all re-elected in nationalist and populist regimes).  Humala, however, distanced himself somewhat from Chavez shortly before he was elected and, adding social inclusion and support programs, has generally continued the liberal economic policies that have led Peru over the past 20 years to its current strong position.

Student-led protests against the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have led to several deaths, the imprisonment of a leading opposition politician, and growing concerns about the stability of the nation as the polarization between pro-government and anti-government groups increases.

Maduro was the handpicked successor of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Venezuela has faced a shortage of basic goods, increasing inflation, and high rates of homicides and other crime.

One Comment

  1. Jason W. Smith, Ph.D.

    Walk Slowly and Drink a lot of Water

    The Organization of American States is not the same OAS as it always has been previously. Why?

    (1) For one thing the Latin American and Caribbean countries are now quite different than they have been in the modern era where until now they could be relied upon by Washington to do as they were told. UNASUR, Mercosur and CELAC are lined up behind Caracas in this fight against US imperialism.
    (2) Peru has been doing exceedingly well under President Humala. This despite the fact Washington did everything it could to prevent his election.
    (3) The real danger confronting Peru at this precise moment is that Washington’s Death Star (so-called embassy on the edge of Lima) could trick the Humala government into making a strategic error. –And, thereby preparing itself for isolation when Washington moves against Humala which is its ultimate game plan.
    (4) Remember that both Fox and Reuters have reported that the Death Star is running drones all over Peru. Ostensibly this is for mapping archaeological resources. Give me a break. Since when has Washington been interested in archaeological resources except to loot them as they did in Iraq? In fact the experience I have had with Washington and archaeological resources has been with George H. W. Bush who looted the R. S. Peabody Foundation funds. (The Peabody Foundation was on the campus of ruling class finishing school Philips Academy when Bush was on its Board as well as the Board of Philips and he oversaw the looting.) This led to Richard S. MacNeish leaving Peabody for his own Andover Foundation for Archaeological Research.
    (5) Now that the chief spy against Peru within the archaeological community John Howland Rowe is dead, lesser lights have had to step up to the plate using the same old CIA front of the Lowie Hearst Museum in Berkeley as their front operation.
    (6) All of this reminds me of what Jack Swank said to me when I returned from my adventures in Peru (1977-1980) about the complexities of life with the Italian Mafia, Dixie Mafia (for which he was Orange County California Boss) and the FBI. All of which I describe in Volume Six of my autobiographical series “Idaho Smith’s Search for the Foundation” entitled Third Crusade. (Available at Kindle Books www. amazon .com . To wit: “walk slowly and drink a lot of water.” The Humala government needs to do exactly this and refuse to be drawn into the trick of the US Death Star. This Death Star is giving many of the order against the legitimate government of Venezuela. The US is trying to succeed there with the exact same tactics they are using with their putsch regime in Kiev. Peru doesn’t have Russia to come to its aid and must work carefully to prevent its being caught in a trap from which it may find extrication difficult.

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