Peruvian President Dina Boluarte has on Saturday announced her decision to downgrade diplomatic relations with Mexico after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described her as a "false" President on Friday.

In a Tweet posted on Friday, Boluarte said she ordered the definitive withdrawal of the Peruvian ambassador to Mexico and reduced diplomatic ties to the level of Charge d'Affaires.

"The Government of Peru has ordered the definitive withdrawal of its ambassador in the United Mexican States and thus, diplomatic relations between Peru and Mexico are formally at the level of Charge d'Affaires," the post reads.

El Gobierno de Perú ha dispuesto el retiro definitivo de su embajador en los Estados Unidos Mexicanos y de esta manera, las relaciones diplomáticas entre el Perú y México quedan formalmente a nivel de Encargado de Negocios. pic.twitter.com/bINvDWKfRx

— Presidencia del Perú 🇵🇪 (@presidenciaperu) February 25, 2023

Boluarte further accused the Mexican President of damaging ties and backing former President Pedro Castillo's attempt at a "coup d'etat."

"With his statements, Mr. Lopez violates the principle of international law about non-interference in internal affairs, as well as those referring to the defense and promotion of democracy," she said in a television address.

La Presidenta Dina Boluarte anunció el retiro definitivo del embajador del Perú en México en rechazo a las reiteradas expresiones del mandatario mexicano Andrés Manuel López Obrador sobre asuntos internos de nuestro país. pic.twitter.com/nGsGQBMXfI

— Cancillería Perú🇵🇪 (@CancilleriaPeru) February 25, 2023

In his Friday statements, Mexican President Obrador said that Boluarte had an approval rating of only 15%, whereas 90% of Peruvians rejected members of Parliament. 

Last December, the Mexican Ambassador to Peru, Pablo Monroy Conesa, was expelled from Lima and declared persona non-grata over Obrador's statements against the Peruvian presidency. 

Read more: Peruvian government expands state of emergency amid ongoing protests

On February 18, the Peruvian Parliament voted to declare Colombian President Gustavo Petro persona non-grata following his statements in which he assimilated the Peruvian police to Nazis. 

Peru's parliament ousted former President Pedro Castillo in December 2022. Within two hours of the impeachment vote, then-Vice President Dina Boluarte took an oath as the country's new President, vowing to serve out the remainder of Castillo's term, which runs until July 2026.

A chain of events triggered a wave of protests across the country. Demonstrators have slammed the post-impeachment government, demanding a presidential election and the dissolution of the country's parliament.

Earlier this month, Peru's Congress voted down another proposal on February 3 to hold early elections this year, just one day after a similar measure aimed at quelling violent countrywide unrest failed.

Aside from advancing elections from April 2024 to July 2023, the rejected proposal included a referendum on creating a constitutional convention, which was another prominent demand of protesters. The proposal by the Free Peru party was rejected with 75 votes against it and only 48 in favor, with one abstention.

Read more: Nearly 50 injured in anti-Boluarte march in Juliaca, Peru