MEXICO CITY/LIMA Nov 22 (Reuters) - A meeting of Latin American nations, known as the Pacific Alliance, scheduled for this week in Mexico will take place in Lima after the Peruvian president was unable to travel to Mexico, two sources in Peru's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The meeting will likely be held Dec. 7 and 8, though the dates have yet to be confirmed, the sources told Reuters.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador floated the idea of shifting the meeting location to Lima earlier on Tuesday in a regular news conference.
"We're exploring the possibility of having a meeting in Peru or taking a decision after consulting members," Lopez Obrador said.
Lopez Obrador said Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Chile's Gabriel Boric would still travel to Mexico and discuss arrangements for the postponed Alliance meeting.
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo welcomed Lopez Obrador's proposal in a broadcast on state television Tuesday morning. "Of course I would like the countries that make up the Pacific Alliance, as well as (Lopez Obrador), to be here," he said.
Castillo was blocked by his country's congress, controlled by the opposition, from traveling for the meeting and other international events as he undergoes a corruption investigation into his government.
Castillo, who took office last year, has survived two impeachment attempts and unprecedented turnover of his Cabinet. A mission from the Organization of American States (OAS) is in Peru until Wednesday to look into the political crisis.
At the Pacific Alliance meeting, Castillo will be handed the pro tempore presidency of the group, one of the foreign ministry sources said.
On Monday, Lopez Obrador had cast doubt on whether the alliance - a trade bloc formed by Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Chile - would meet.
Mexico's president said a bilateral meeting with Ecuador's Guillermo Lasso was also upcoming. (Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom and Marco Aquino in Lima Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Matthew Lewis)
