Bolivia’s Arce welcomes Peruvian government’s decision to leave Lima Group

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, greeted this Sunday the decision of the new government of Peru to withdraw from the Lima Group and join the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).

“The Patria Grande is moving towards a stage of integration based on respect and solidarity among peoples,” Arce wrote on his official Twitter account.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Bolivia

For his part, the Bolivian Foreign Minister, Rogelio Mayta, said that with Peru’s exit from the Lima Group, “it is proven that super ideologized alliances do not prosper” and that “integration based on the interests of our peoples and respect for our differences” should be promoted.

“A united Latin America is not only possible, but it is also urgent”, Mayta wrote in his Twitter account.

Likewise, former President Evo Morales also made a statement on the matter and welcomed Peruvian President Pedro Castillo and Peruvian Foreign Minister Héctor Béjar to leave the Lima Group, which was promoted five years ago by former Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018).

Morales pointed out that the Lima Group was created “as an instrument of interference against popular governments” and congratulated the “sovereign attitude” of Peru that follows in the footsteps of “Mexico, Bolivia, and Argentina that abandoned that submissive instance to the [U.S.] empire.”

The Lima Group is an alliance of Latin American countries that disowns the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro and supports as president in charge the oppositionist Juan Guaidó. This group was created in the Peruvian capital in August 2017 to find ways out of the crisis in Venezuela.

According to local media, the Peruvian Foreign Minister, Héctor Béjar, announced the withdrawal of his country and indicated that they work against unilateral blockade policies affecting Venezuela.

Likewise, according to local media, the Peruvian Chancellor announced that he would rejoin the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).