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Around 10:00 pm yesterday, President-elect Ollanta Humala Tasso left for La Paz (Bolivia) on a commercial flight of the airline Taca, to meet with the head of state of that country, Evo Morales Ayma.

Minutes before boarding the plane that would take him south and in brief contact with the press at the international airport Jorge Chavez, Humala Tasso stated his desire that the meeting would serve to strengthen bilateral relations. “The idea is to start planting international relations between heads of state. With President Evo Morales there is a relationship that goes back several years and it is important that these conversations take benefit both populations,” said the president-elect.

Nearly one in the morning on Tuesday and as expected, Ollanta Humala Tasso arrived at El Alto International Airport, located 14 kilometers southwest of La Paz, accompanied by his wife Nadine Heredia and members of his security. Representatives of the Bolivian government received the Peruvian president-elect and greeted him on behalf of President Evo Morales.

According to the official agenda presented by the government of Bolivia, Ollanta Humala will participate with President Morales Ayma to an Aymara ritual in honor of the Andean New Year, to be held at the archaeological site of Tiahuanaco, 70 kilometers west of La Paz. At the conference, both presidents will alternate with a group of Aymara shamans, said Bolivia’s Communications Minister Ivan Canelas. However, he also stated that Ollanta Humala would not attend that meeting, because after the interview with Evo Morales and the subsequent lunch at a hotel of La Paz, he would immediately return Lima.

Regarding this trip by Ollanta Humala to Bolivia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde, said that the Foreign Ministry is very satisfied, because the relationship with the neighboring country of the plateau is in very good terms. “It reversed from what had been a misunderstanding at first, but now it has been overcome; we have agreements on Ilo and that has transformed the relationship. I think the president-elect’s trip confirms the good links that should be taken with a brotherly country such as Bolivia, “ he said.

Meanwhile, Bolivia’s former foreign minister, Javier Murillo de la Rocha said “all the presidents of Peru who came to Bolivia are greeted with affection and approval of the people; it’s always been this way because they are allowing visitors to reaffirm a long historical tradition, cooperative and very affectionate with Peru,” he said. He noted that President-elect Ollanta Humala will speak on “great moderation, quiet” and ratifying the decision to make Peru continue on a path that ensures the progress that has been interesting in terms of investment and development.

Javier Murillo de la Rocha, who was foreign minister in the democratic government of Hugo Banzer, between 1997 and 2001, said the expressions of Bolivian President Evo Morales on “America turns red” with the election of Ollanta Humala in Peru, it not necessarily an ideological link to a much more radical pattern. “I think there are leftists in South America, but they have different nuances, ways of looking at the commitment of governments to the pressing needs that their people have,” he said.

Murillo de la Rocha mentioned that the great response to the needs of the population is more growth to allow most citizens to take advantage of the greater well being achieved with development. “Sometimes, the expressions that occur in a particular time does not necessarily reflect radicalism; they are part of the excitement, of determined lines intended to be drawn in Latin America,” said Murillo.

He also indicated that Peruvian-Bolivian relations are on track and the differences were overcome more than a year ago, to everyone's liking. He said that these differences were due to different views about what was expected in the process of integration of the Andean Community due to the ideological fragmentation that has occurred in South America. “This fragmentation has meant, obviously, a reversal of certain processes of integration, that is a reality,” said the diplomat.

He recalled that Peru has made an interesting effort to provide a solution to Bolivia through Ilo, a gesture that the Bolivian population acknowledges. It also said it is clear from the expressions of President-elect Ollanta Humala and President Alan Garcia, that Peru does not obstruct the port for Bolivia, if it be given an area north of Arica, because according to the Treaty of 1959, Peru has to give consent, if Chile would give maritime access to Bolivia. “So in that sense, I think that the policies of the three countries are quite clear,” he said.