Peru’s leadership in the Lima Group: emergence and failure (2015–2021)

This research seeks to understand the factors that enabled Peru, a medium-sized country in Latin America, to take on a leadership role in the creation and development of the Lima Group—a multilateral mechanism whose main objective was to find a resolution to the democratic crisis in Venezuela—as wel...

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Main Authors: Oscar Vidarte Arévalo, Andrea Rivas Huerta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-10-01
Series:Frontiers in Political Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2024.1494992/full
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author Oscar Vidarte Arévalo
Andrea Rivas Huerta
author_facet Oscar Vidarte Arévalo
Andrea Rivas Huerta
author_sort Oscar Vidarte Arévalo
collection DOAJ
description This research seeks to understand the factors that enabled Peru, a medium-sized country in Latin America, to take on a leadership role in the creation and development of the Lima Group—a multilateral mechanism whose main objective was to find a resolution to the democratic crisis in Venezuela—as well as the subsequent failure of this leadership. Using the analytical tools provided by Neoclassical Realism, this study argues that Peru’s leadership was made possible not only by the growing importance of the Venezuelan crisis on the international agenda since 2015 but also by changes in regional and global power dynamics. These shifts allowed a country like Peru to exercise such leadership and garner greater interest from the United States. Additionally, the presence of a favorable domestic political climate and clear national interests led the Peruvian government to view this leadership as beneficial, not only for the region but also for Peru itself. However, despite the Venezuelan crisis remaining on the international agenda due to Nicolás Maduro’s continued hold on power, the hardening of the U.S. stance on Venezuela and political changes at the regional level since 2018 fractured the Lima Group and undermined Peru’s leadership. Moreover, domestically, political changes led to heightened instability, weakening Peru’s external position. Finally, the surge in Venezuelan migration and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the priorities of Peru’s foreign policy, diminishing its focus on the Venezuelan crisis and contributing to the failure of its leadership.
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spelling doaj-art-b0c19143409748a49aad178f28303d5f2025-08-20T02:12:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Political Science2673-31452024-10-01610.3389/fpos.2024.14949921494992Peru’s leadership in the Lima Group: emergence and failure (2015–2021)Oscar Vidarte ArévaloAndrea Rivas HuertaThis research seeks to understand the factors that enabled Peru, a medium-sized country in Latin America, to take on a leadership role in the creation and development of the Lima Group—a multilateral mechanism whose main objective was to find a resolution to the democratic crisis in Venezuela—as well as the subsequent failure of this leadership. Using the analytical tools provided by Neoclassical Realism, this study argues that Peru’s leadership was made possible not only by the growing importance of the Venezuelan crisis on the international agenda since 2015 but also by changes in regional and global power dynamics. These shifts allowed a country like Peru to exercise such leadership and garner greater interest from the United States. Additionally, the presence of a favorable domestic political climate and clear national interests led the Peruvian government to view this leadership as beneficial, not only for the region but also for Peru itself. However, despite the Venezuelan crisis remaining on the international agenda due to Nicolás Maduro’s continued hold on power, the hardening of the U.S. stance on Venezuela and political changes at the regional level since 2018 fractured the Lima Group and undermined Peru’s leadership. Moreover, domestically, political changes led to heightened instability, weakening Peru’s external position. Finally, the surge in Venezuelan migration and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the priorities of Peru’s foreign policy, diminishing its focus on the Venezuelan crisis and contributing to the failure of its leadership.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2024.1494992/fullPerúVenezuelaLima Groupdemocracyneoclassical realismLatin America
spellingShingle Oscar Vidarte Arévalo
Andrea Rivas Huerta
Peru’s leadership in the Lima Group: emergence and failure (2015–2021)
Frontiers in Political Science
Perú
Venezuela
Lima Group
democracy
neoclassical realism
Latin America
title Peru’s leadership in the Lima Group: emergence and failure (2015–2021)
title_full Peru’s leadership in the Lima Group: emergence and failure (2015–2021)
title_fullStr Peru’s leadership in the Lima Group: emergence and failure (2015–2021)
title_full_unstemmed Peru’s leadership in the Lima Group: emergence and failure (2015–2021)
title_short Peru’s leadership in the Lima Group: emergence and failure (2015–2021)
title_sort peru s leadership in the lima group emergence and failure 2015 2021
topic Perú
Venezuela
Lima Group
democracy
neoclassical realism
Latin America
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2024.1494992/full
work_keys_str_mv AT oscarvidartearevalo perusleadershipinthelimagroupemergenceandfailure20152021
AT andrearivashuerta perusleadershipinthelimagroupemergenceandfailure20152021