Peru’s President to Reorganize Cabinet Three Days After Appointing Criticized Prime Minister

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced Friday that he will reorganize his cabinet just three days after renewing his team, with a prime minister besieged by allegations of family violence that sparked a wave of criticism against the government.
In a televised message, Castillo, who had formed his third cabinet on Tuesday after half a year in office, did not say whether Prime Minister Hector Valer would step down or what other ministerial changes he would make.
The president also did not mention when the names of his new ministers, made up of 19 officials including the prime minister, would be known, although he said he hopes to consider representatives of various political forces.
Castillo will most likely fire Valer, who has received a wave of criticism from the opposition, human rights groups, feminists, indigenous people and even the ruling party itself for allegations of beating his daughter and late wife, which the official has denied.
Women’s defense movements held a protest march in downtown Lima on Friday with the slogan “Out with a corrupt and macho cabinet,” challenging the state of emergency – which suspends civil rights – that the government decreed this week in order to strengthen the fight against crime with the support of the armed forces.
In his message, Castillo criticized the opposition-dominated Congress that earlier denounced an alleged threat to close parliament, after Valer asked the Legislature to accelerate its decision on whether or not to support his team and government plan, something that normally occurs in two or three weeks.
“Congress has expressed its rejection of this urgent request, a postponed request to give it an immediate solution within the framework of democracy,” President Castillo said in his message.
“That is why I have taken the decision to recompose the cabinet and these changes will be made taking into account the openness to the political, academic and professional forces of the country,” he said.
If Congress twice rejects a prime minister, the Peruvian Constitution allows the President to close Parliament and call new legislative elections.
“We are not going to allow democracy to be interrupted,” Congress chief Maricamen Alva had said at a news conference ahead of the president’s message to the nation.
Criticism has not only been directed at Valer, but also at others such as Environment Minister Wilber Supo, a geography professor with no experience in environmental issues and a member of the Marxist party Perú Libre that brought Castillo to power.
Supo’s entry comes as the government faces Peru’s worst ecological disaster in years from the spill of more than 10,000 barrels of oil into the sea by Spain’s Repsol, which has affected coastal wildlife and miles of beaches in Lima.
“Please look for the best cadres, Peruvians want peace,” Lima Mayor Jorge Muñoz told reporters. “This will greatly affect the president if he doesn’t take corrective action.”
Women from eight parties in Congress published a letter addressed to Castillo, in which they called for “the immediate dismissal” of Valer and announced that they would not give their vote of support to the new government cabinet.
Peru has had five presidents since 2016, including Castillo. In 2018, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned minutes before an impeachment vote in Congress that he had lost, while Martín Vizcarra was impeached in November 2020 in a vote in parliament.

Original source in Spanish