Tempest in Egypt: Peruvian press and diplomacy in light of the Suez crisis (1956)

Abstract

In July 1956, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, a major commercial artery for the Western world and administered by Britain and France. The Anglo-French response was livid, nonetheless the position of other global actors would not go in the same direction. Peru, a peripheral country with relevant diplomatic presence in the United Nations, expressed its stance on the Suez crisis in this context of the Cold War and bipolarity. This article will first explore the account of the events by the dean of the Peruvian press: El Comercio. Secondly, it will analyse the Peruvian diplomatic position of its delegation at the UN, chaired at that time by Victor Andres Belaunde.