Since he came to the cabinet, Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea He made himself known. He clicked with Pérez de Cuéllar, since he was a candidate for Parliament for Unión por el Perú in 1995. He was called ‘Minister Willax’ for his good relations with part of the press. And he had more than one clash with Alberto Otárola, from not inviting him to the trip to Chile for Piñera’s funeral to announcing the resignation of the then prime minister, who called him “out of place.”
He made controversial comments at the Canadian and French embassies. He was criticized internally for some trips. And he had more than one friction with the prime minister. Gustavo AdrianzenFor example, to see who was announcing changes in the embassies. The latest of these was the departure of Víctor García Toma from the UN.
His heterodoxy also earned him critical comments from some career diplomats in the corridors of power. Tagle Tower.
Sources also mention the contradiction that the first-class ticket to China for the then foreign minister cost three times more than that of the president herself. Finally, at the Uruguayan embassy a few weeks ago, he said that “whatever happens to me, I ask my collaborators at Torre Tagle to continue.” It is not known whether he was preparing to be prime minister or to return home.
In recent weeks, a prominent lawyer led a lobby group to secure his appointment as prime minister. He had the high profile, the sympathy of Congress, the clear ideological position and the connections with the press.
But, as has become clear, the president is not looking for a prime minister with his own agenda. Not even one who would fill her silence on the issue of Venezuela. And even less so a former candidate registered with the PPC with political appetites.
Perhaps that is why he was notified of his departure 15 minutes before his replacement was sworn in.
“Anyone who reads that resignation knows that it is the resignation of a deeply irritated person,” theorizes Carlos Basombrío. “A person who is upset. Three or four lines signed at 12:15 pm show that it was something unforeseen.”
He then became an active Twitter user again, responding to comments from those who were saying goodbye to him, both confused and grateful. And in the courtyard of Torre Tagle, he said goodbye by reading a poem that he later published.
TOWER TACKLE
The new foreign minister started off on the wrong foot. But he quickly corrected his speech and said that “Peru will continue to maintain its firm and unwavering position of demanding respect for the will expressed by the Venezuelan people in the presidential elections of July 28.” Elmer Schialer He added that “the electoral records of these elections have not been presented in accordance with Venezuelan law, which is evidence of serious irregularities in the process, which we have already denounced. We do not, therefore, recognize these results. We also strongly condemn the arbitrary detentions and political persecution suffered by our Venezuelan brothers, particularly those who oppose the regime of Nicolas Maduro”. Finally, he clarified that “Peru has resolutely rejected the arrest warrant issued against Mr. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia“and reiterated that Peru will continue to support the Venezuelan people in their struggle for democracy and freedom.”
Absolutely clear. Unless it is qualified by what the Prime Minister said, who stated that González Urrutia “cannot be the elected president. We have no official communication from the Peruvian State recognizing that condition for Mr. González Urrutia.” Gustavo Adrianzén rounded off his conference by revolving around —excuse the redundancy— whether or not the Maduro regime is a dictatorship.
IT’S NOT VENEZUELA: IT’S PERU
It turns out that González-Olaechea’s heterodoxy, which was very unpopular in Torre Tagle, was also very popular in public opinion. That excessive tone for some career diplomats spoke clearly to politicians and opinion leaders. Especially in Latin America, where diplomats, as the saying goes, are known for not saying what they really think.
As a good Latin American dictator, Nicolás Maduro has been able to take advantage of this diplomatic ‘institutionality’ and the formalities of regional ‘soft power’. He knows how to channel debates with his populist allies, relativize hard electoral figures, blur factual realities and navigate the bureaucracy of the OAS by buying votes from Caribbean islands with oil.
If Chavismo has lasted 25 years and the Cuban regime has lasted more than 70, it is, in part, thanks to that international bureaucracy and that conciliatory diplomacy.
Ivan Arenas suggested in Peru21 that behind the change of foreign minister there is a bigger game with Lula and regional investors, to the detriment of the rapprochement with the United States that Gonzalez-Olaechea promoted. It remains to be seen if this is a case of disguising one saint for another. Three months after APEC, changing the foreign minister and the failed Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism is worrying.
What the government doesn’t understand is that this is not about Venezuela. It is about the ideological definition that the president was asked to give from day one. It is about how to differentiate herself from a regime that Pedro Castillo wanted to impose here, which she claims to oppose. And it is about giving the right signals to call for investments. And there is a question mark there.
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