Bolsonaro and Castillo forget ideologies and crises and talk about cooperation

The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, received his Peruvian counterpart, Pedro Castillo, on Thursday in a meeting in which they forgot their ideological differences and the political problems that both face, to fine-tune bilateral cooperation.

The meeting between the main referent of the extreme right in the region and the Peruvian leftist leader was held in the city of Porto Velho, in the Brazilian Amazon, and ended without the traditional appearance of the leaders before the journalists.

Both Foreign Ministries, however, released a joint statement that summarized the main conclusions in 36 points.

The note says that it was agreed to strengthen relations in all areas and strengthen the “strategic alliance” between the two countries, with a renewed boost to trade, which last year was around US $ 4,300 million.

It also cites the intention of promoting mutual investments, “working on concrete forms of productive integration” with a focus on small and medium-sized companies, as well as improving business cooperation and land connections in neighboring areas.

Brazil and Peru share a 2,822-kilometer border in the Amazon region, in which Bolsonaro and Castillo have also promised to strengthen cooperation in security, defense and health, and especially in the fight against covid-19.

The joint statement also celebrates the fact that both Brazil and Peru have been invited to start the process for joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

According to the document, Bolsonaro and Castillo “recognized the opportunities that such a situation can generate for coordination and cooperation,” including at the bilateral level.

The OECD’s invitation was announced last week, when the organization stated that it is extended to Argentina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, which will also begin the accession process.

Political differences overcome in the midst of crises

The clear political differences between the two rulers were left aside in this meeting and Bolsonaro, in statements to journalists before receiving Castillo, considered them “overcome”.

Bolsonaro maintained that “in politics, each one takes care of his own” and that Brazil “seeks the best possible relations with the whole world” and the negotiation of “productive trade agreements.”

However, he added, “we have experiences in South America that did not go very well” and “Venezuela is a good example of that.”

Bolsonaro greeted Castillo affectionately upon receiving him and even hugged him as they climbed some stairs to the meeting site, in which the Peruvian president participated with an inseparable wide-brimmed hat, according to images broadcast on state television.

As well as ideology, the serious difficulties faced by both rulers did not appear in the Porto Velho meeting either.

Bolsonaro is facing problems with the Justice, which is investigating him on various fronts, and the elections ahead of next October, in which all the polls say that he will be ousted from power by former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In the case of Castillo, with just six months in office, he has just been forced to change his government team for the third time, in the midst of a growing political and governance crisis and pressure from some opposition sectors that demand his resignation. or his dismissal.

Even after announcing this new government team, the crisis has not been completely overcome and the Peruvian press has denounced that the new prime minister, Héctor Valer, faced legal proceedings in 2017 for alleged attacks on his wife and daughter, although the The official has since denied those accusations.

Valer was elected congressman for the period 2021-2026 by the far-right Popular Renovation party, but later resigned from that formation to join the centrist Somos Perú, which he also left to join a group of dissident legislators from various benches.