The President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, appointed on Wednesday the former Minister of Defense, Alberto Otárola, as the country’s new Prime Minister in what is already the second Cabinet of the head of state in only two weeks after the dismissal and arrest of her predecessor, Pedro Castillo.
During a ceremony held at the Peruvian Government Palace, Boluarte also swore in Víctor Rojas Herrera as head of the Ministry of the Interior, replacing César Cervantes, as reported by the Andina news agency.
For his part, Jorge Luis Chávez Cresta will replace Otárola in a Defense portfolio that he already led for barely three months, between August and November 2020, under the presidency of Martín Vizcarra.
Óscar Becerra assumes the Education portfolio, free since last Friday when Patricia Correa resigned due to her disagreement with the authorities’ management of the mobilizations in the country, as a result of which more than twenty people have already died.
After Correa’s resignation, Jair Pérez gave the same reasons for his resignation as head of Culture. Now Boluarte has appointed Leslie Urteaga, who previously held positions in the ministry, to lead it.
Likewise, Boluarte has ratified Ana Gervasi Díaz as Minister of Foreign Affairs; Alonso Contreras as Minister of Economy; José Tello as Minister of Justice and Human Rights; Rosa Bertha Gutiérrez Palomino as Minister of Health; Nelly Paredes as Minister of Agrarian Development; and Grecia Rojas as Minister of Women’s Affairs.
Eduardo García also continues as head of Labor and Employment Promotion; Sandra Belaunde in Production; Luis Helguero as head of Foreign Trade and Tourism; Óscar Vera as head of Energy and Mines; Paola Lazarte in Transport and Communications; Hania Pérez de Cuellar as head of Housing; and Albina Ruiz in Environment.
Boluarte announced two days ago the dismissal of Pedro Angulo as head of Government and announced the appointment of a new ministerial Cabinet since the previous one was «too technical» for the situation of social instability that the Andean nation is going through.
Thus, the Peruvian president already announced this week that the future head of government should have a strong «political» character, and at the same time be able to «look with sensitivity at the needs of the people».
Peru has been the scene of political instability since the beginning of the mandate of former president Pedro Castillo, who was finally dismissed and arrested at the beginning of the month after announcing the dissolution of Parliament and the implementation of an emergency government.
That decision hardly gained any support, with the result that the president was arrested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and accused by Peruvian authorities of trying to carry out a sort of «coup d’état». The population has taken to the streets to protest the arrest of the former president.
The demonstrators also demanded the departure of Boluarte from the Andean presidency and the calling of new elections, the latter a demand that the Congress has partially accepted, since this morning it announced the advancement of the presidential elections to April 2024.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
