Peru: President Castillo reshuffles his Cabinet

PERU - In Brief 08 Oct 2021 by Alfredo Thorne

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On Tuesday night, October 5, President Castillo, dismissed his controversial Prime Minister Mr. Guido Bellido and reshuffled his Cabinet. Overall the message is positive. Mr. Bellido was a highly controversial individual and many times undercut President Castillo. The latest was the nomination of Mr. Julio Velarde as Governor of the Central Bank, saying that he had signed the presidential decree, while Mr. Castillo had not. Moreover, in the reshuffle, Mr. Vladimir Cerrón, the highly radical leftist head of Perú Libre party, and Mr. Bellido, his mentor, lost power in the Cabinet. They retain only one member in the Interior Ministry. However, we cannot overlook this appointment. With Mr. Cerrón's being part of a money-laundering investigation by the Prosecutor's Office (Fiscalia General de la Nación), maintaining influence on the Interior Minister could undermine this investigation. Moreover, this ministry could help Mr. Cerrón and his party collect the signatures needed to call a referendum for a Constitutional Assembly (see our September report)The appointment of Ms. Mirtha Vásquez as the new Prime Minister is positive, as is the rest of the new team. She is leftist but more moderate and unaligned with Mr. Cerrón. She was Head of Congress under President Sagasti's government and played a key role in controlling the radical groups at that time. She may prove the best politician and negotiator. However, this does not mean that Ms. Vásquez and President Castillo would backtrack on their main political objectives. Both want to change the Constitution towards the Bolivian model, reverse many reforms, especially the education reform, and both are anti-miners. In fact, Ms. Va...