Peru's new Cabinet: First reactions

PERU - In Brief 03 Feb 2022 by Alfredo Thorne
On Tuesday night President Castillo took oath to the new Cabinet. Of the 19 members, President Castillo changed 10, including the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. The previous Cabinet reached a crisis point when President Castillo decided not to support his Interior Minister, Mr. Avelino Guillen, a well-known corruption fighter. Next day, the former Prime Minister resigned in Guillen's support. With Mr. Guillen a former prosecutor and a champion in the fight against corruption, the moderate left led by Ms. Veronika Mendoza, was critical of President Castillo's decisions and broke the alliance with this group, losing his small coalition in Congress. In response, he strengthened his alliance with Mr. Vladimir Cerrón and his Perú Libre party. The new Cabinet may have been negotiated with this group, but it may be a provocation to the opposition in Congress. The new Prime Minister, Mr. Hector Valer, has accusations of having beaten his wife and daughter and of illegal enrichment; and the new Interior Minister, Mr. Alfonso Chavarry, has sentences on abuse of authority and is being prosecuted for drug smuggling. The rest of the ministers follow this trend and are unlikely to achieve much. The only common denominator is their loyalty to President Castillo. The only positive appointment is the Finance Minister, Mr. Oscar Graham, a long-time civil servant who has spent most of his professional life working in public administration. But his challenge is tremendous, and pressure on government finances should be high.It is unclear what will happen next, but this Cabinet may not last for too long. President Castillo's cronyism has been a trend since his first Cabinet. The scand...

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