Peru began to foster a desire to radically alter its traditionally passive role in foreign affairs, prior to this surge of highly nationalistic forces, the country faced excessive or undue influence from foreign countries, particularly the United States. This heightened sense of independence expanded to the following decade, with Peru’s military government in power, foreign relations became more independent and nonaligned. The military government of Velasco sought to implement a set of socioeconomic policies as part of its domestic reform program and in order to advance its domestic interests, Peru diversified its diplomatic relations with Western Europe and Asia. Peru also stretched relations with Latin American countries, especially those who shared economic and political interests.
Today, Peru 's relationships with its neighbors are generally cooperative, increasingly so with those countries which are part of the Pacific Alliance (Mexico, Colombia and Chile in addition to Peru). Support for greater regional integration in Latin America is an important priority for President Humala. Peru has publicly supported Argentina 's position over the dispute with the United Kingdom on the Falkland Islands. During the 2011 presidential election, Venezuela and Brazil became points of reference in debating the economic …show more content…
Peru and the United States cooperate extensively on law enforcement issues, particularly in relation to narcotics. In order to further understand this dynamic, we must mention the cultivation of coca in the country. The coca leaf was considered a ritual component in the pre-Hispanic Andean societies for thousands of years and has played a central role in the system of beliefs, customs and knowledge, embedded in an original worldview. In the Andes, people live in over 4,000 meters high, making coca, serves as a natural, abundant and inexpensive means to combat the effects of altitude. The emergence of cocaine as a drug is a totally different and much more recent phenomenon, not linked to any culture but rather the enrichment of a few through physical, mental and social destruction of many. Unfortunately misuse some make coca and complex procedure to which the subject for its transformation into a toxic product like cocaine, makes people tend to confuse the two products. In order to eradicate this problem, the United States attempted to create alternative development programs, in which Peru would trade its coca cultivation for other important crops (African palm, coffee, cocoa). These programs were created with very little regard of the history and tradition of coca, as previously mentioned (Tulchin and Fonseca 2010). The Peruvian