Peru’s Alan García: Low-Balling Human Rights

Peru made international headlines several weeks ago when indigenous leader Segundo Alberto Pizango Chota returned to the country after almost a year in exile. Upon his arrival at the Lima airport on May 26^th, he was immediately detained. A day later, he was freed on bail, although he still faces charges of sedition and conspiracy in a scheduled upcoming trial.
On June 1^st, Barack Obama met with Peruvian president Alan García in Washington to discuss the growing partnership between the two countries in addition to a variety of other hemispheric and international issues. Summarizing the meeting to the press, Obama praised Peru for its “excellent track record” with regards to human rights. He further stated that Peru and the United States would “continue to pursue the details” of an already enacted free trade agreement, which he claims creates “jobs and prosperity in both countries.” Pizango’s case was not mentioned in the meeting, nor was the true nature of García’s scorn for the observance of human rights. To paraphrase Milton Eisenhower, rather than a state dinner, García, at best, warranted no better than a cold handshake.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Carly Steinberger