The tumultuous end to the Pedro Castillo administration in Peru has put the Latin American left, which currently dominates the continent’s political map, in a difficult diplomatic position.
Mr. Castillo’s attempt to unilaterally close Congress immediately brought memories from the opposite side of Peru’s ideological spectrum. Back in 1992, right-winger Alberto Fujimori tried a similar self-coup, though with one crucial difference: he had the support to actually pull it off.
Even more importantly, the long history of right-wing coups during the Cold War means that respect for democratic norms is a core value for most left-of-center leaders in Latin America. But backing your allies is also central to political life, and the region’s presidents faced the challenge of striking a balance.
The challenge was especially big for the recently-inaugurated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, as his departed adversary Jair Bolsonaro never misses a chance to strike out at him by putting the whole continental left in the same bag. Mr. Bolsonaro argued that Mr. Castilo had shown the true colors of his ilk by trying to turn Peru into a new Venezuela, and that Brazil could be next.
But Lula has been cautious in this regard, and his statement on the conflict took distance from Mr. Castillo’s actions while also lamenting...
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