RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday qualified the statements made the day before by the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, who in an interview said he was “in favor” of holding a referendum to give Bolivia an outlet to the sea.
In a statement, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry ruled out any possibility of ceding Peruvian territory in favor of Bolivia so that the neighboring country would have direct access to the Pacific Ocean, and pointed out that its support to Bolivia’s maritime demand is limited to providing facilities to move cargo through the southern port of Ilo.
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“The efforts to provide better conditions for the transit of Bolivian people and goods through Peruvian territory and ports respond to a historical position of Peru that, under no circumstances, can be interpreted as an affectation of our sovereignty”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that Peru’s foreign policy with Bolivia “is framed in respect for the Constitution and international law”, particularly in compliance with the treaties to which Peru is a party.
“The Government of Peru promotes the implementation of these treaties through a set of actions that have allowed a significant increase in the movement of Bolivian cargo through the port of Ilo, which has contributed to boosting its commercial activities,” the ministry said.
During an interview with CNN en Español broadcast on Tuesday night, Castillo said he was in favor of giving “sea for Bolivia” because he considered it “a right” of this country and anticipated his willingness to hold a popular consultation with the rest of Peruvians to see if they are in favor.
The Peruvian president, who has been harshly criticized for these statements, acknowledged that he claimed the “sea for Bolivia” during a conference of Latin American professors he attended in La Paz in 2018, when he was not even considering being a presidential candidate.
“I am not saying that I am going to give Bolivia the sea. If the Peruvians agree, I owe it to the people. I would never do things that the people do not want,” he noted about an eventual popular consultation to grant Bolivia an outlet to the sea through Peruvian territory.
Bolivia lost its access to the Pacific Ocean in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) when the region of Antofagasta passed into the hands of Chile, which Bolivia sued in 2013 before the International Court of The Hague to negotiate an exit, but the court rejected the Bolivian request.
Since that warlike conflict where Bolivia and Peru were allies, the winks of Peruvian rulers towards Bolivia’s maritime yearning have been constant, as when Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) ceded in 1992 to the neighboring country a 5-kilometer strip called Bolivia Mar for eminently touristic purposes for 99 years.