FILE PHOTO: Peru’s Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez arrives to face a critical vote of no confidence by the opposition-led Congress in Lima, Peru, November 4, 2021. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda/File Photo
January 31, 2022
By Marcelo Rochabrun
LIMA (Reuters) -Peruvian President Pedro Castillo said on Monday that he would replace Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez and shuffle his center-left Cabinet, while it was unclear whether his investor-friendly finance minister would continue in his post.
Vasquez said on Twitter she had resigned “due to the impossibility of reaching consensus to benefit the country.”
Castillo, a member of a Marxist-Leninist party, will now nominate his third Cabinet in just six months in office, which will require confirmation from the opposition-led Congress.
It was not immediately clear if Castillo would remove Finance Minister Pedro Francke, who is popular with markets and has maintained economic stability in the copper-rich country. He did not respond to a request for comment on his continuity in the job.
What Castillo’s new Cabinet may look like – or when it may be sworn in – remains a wild card. He swore in a far-left Cabinet in July, sending Peru’s sol currency to record lows amid investor concern.
But he moderated his stance in October when he nominated Vasquez, a moderate-left lawyer and former president of congress. With Vasquez, Castillo survived an impeachment attempt launched by the opposition-controlled legislature.
In her resignation letter that she shared on Twitter, Vasquez made reference to several crises, including “regretfully, potential acts of corruption or irregularities committed by officials at the highest level of this administration.”
Over the weekend, an ally of Vasquez – Interior Minister Avelino Guillen, who is in charge of the police – submitted his resignation over disagreements with Castillo.
Guillen had wanted to replace high-level police officials involved in corruption allegations, but told local media that he had not been supported by Castillo in his decisions.
(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Source: One America News Network
