The United States considers the elections in Peru “a model of democracy in the region”

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blink, spoke this Sunday with the Foreign Minister of Peru, Allan Wagner, about the elections of last April 11 in that country, which he described as “a model of democracy in the region”, and about the situation in Venezuela.

“Secretary Blinken praised the recent elections in Peru as a model of democracy in the region, and emphasized that Peru is an important partner in advancing security and prosperity in South America,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Peru held an electoral day on April 11 that determined the passage to a second round – scheduled for June 6 – of the far-left candidate Pedro Castillo and the right-wing Keiko Fujimori.

The note noted that both officials also agreed “on the importance of collaborating to restore democracy and economic stability in Venezuela, as well as meeting the humanitarian needs of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Peru and throughout the hemisphere.”

Peru is now the second country, after Colombia, to host the largest number of Venezuelans who, according to official figures as of August 2020, barely exceed one million people, although organizations such as the World Bank (WB) indicate that they reach 1.2 million.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), some 5.4 million Venezuelans have left their country in recent years.

During the conversation, Blinken also expressed its support for the efforts of the Government of the transitory president of Peru, Francisco Sagasti, to face the health crisis of covid-19, which has caused more than 61,000 deaths in that country.

“The secretary and foreign minister pledged to work together to address shared challenges, such as economic renewal as we recover from the pandemic, protection of the environment and transnational crime,” the statement added, according to the which officials reaffirmed the solidity of the bilateral relationship and the deep ties that unite both peoples.

On January 20, Sagasti congratulated the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and his vice president, Kamala Harris, on their coming to power and expressed his interest “in working together to strengthen democracy and the fight against covid- 19 in the region ”.