ALBA Denounces Coup in Peru and Lawfare in Argentina

By Ben Norton, journalist

Ed. Note: Edited for length

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the left-wing economic and political bloc uniting countries in Latin America and the Caribbean has forcefully opposed the coup d’etat in Peru and expressed its support for the country’s democratically elected President Pedro Castillo. At their 18th annual summit in Cuba on December 14, 2022, ALBA member states released a joint declaration calling for the defense of national sovereignty without any foreign interference. “We reject the colonialist and interfering postulates of the Monroe Doctrine used to justify destabilizing and interventionist practices in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

They stated: “[We]express our solidarity with the brotherly Peruvian people that has been subjected to a continuous institutional crisis, resulting in a series of events that threaten the stability and the welfare of the majority. We reject the political trap created by the right-wing forces of that country against the Constitutional President Pedro Castillo,

forcing him to take measures that were later used by his adversaries in parliament to oust him from office; we repudiate the repression by the law enforcement agencies against the Peruvian people who are defending a government democratically elected at the polls and we call for dialogue, understanding and maturity of all political, economic, and social actors of the Republic of Peru, as well as we raise our voices to guarantee the fundamental rights of this brother people.”

The Alliance also declared: “[We] de-renounce the use of unconventional warfare strategies against democratically elected governments and leaders in the region using the politically motivated and legally unsub- instantiated judicial processes (lawfare), to de- feat political and ideological opponents while condemning manipulation for political and destabilizing purposes of human rights, the disinformation and propaganda campaigns; the malicious use of the information and communication technologies; and cyber-attacks, among other methods undermining the sovereignty and will of the peoples. In this regard, we express our firmest rejection of the politically motivated judicial actions

against our fellow Vice President of Argen- tina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a key leader of the integration processes in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Attending the conference were Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega, Bolivia’s President Luis Arce, Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell, Foreign Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Everly Chet Greene, and Finance Minister of Saint Lucia Wayne Girard.

ALBA also called for Caribbean nations to receive “reparations for the damages caused by native genocide, colonialism and slavery” and urged “to increase international solidarity with the brotherly people of the Republic of Haiti.” It praised the peace talks being held between Colombia and the armed socialist militia the ELN.

Source: Multipolarista, 12/15/22