many leftists, few women and no minister of the economy

The appointment of President Pedro Castillo’s first executive in Peru made it clear that the rural teacher is betting a lot on the left, very little for women and leaves enormous economic uncertainty.

The nominations, controversial and harshly criticized, situate Castillo closer to the radical left that the Free Peru party defends rather than the moderation it has shown in the electoral campaign, with a team more confrontational than conciliatory and more oriented to satisfy the different sectors of the left than to unite a country radically fragmented and polarized.

These are some of the keys that explain the situation in Peru.

Economy

Castillo has no one at the Ministry of the Economy and it will be difficult for you to find a professional who will accept the responsibility.

Your best option to assert restraint and smooth management of the economy was Pedro Francké, his main adviser on the matter to this day and of whom it was assumed that he was going to be responsible for the portfolio for the relief of the market and of a large part of the citizens.

But the economist it was not to the liking of Vladimir Cerrón, the leader of Peru Libre, or the new prime minister Guido Bellido, under whose leadership Francke seems to have refused to work.

“Francke stepped through the false door as he has done a heroic job in recent weeks to deliver a message from the center-left that has opened up avenues in all sectors. If they let him go to keep Bellido, it’s because Castillo thinks it’s the right thing to do. It will cost him dearly to find a solvent minister, ”believes political scientist Sandro Venturo.

Cerrón’s weight

All decisions made by Castillo point to Cerrón, a controversial Marxist doctor, former regional governor convicted of corruption and legally barred from holding public office, influence decisions more of the president than what he admitted.

The figure of Cerrón it’s toxic for many, even for a large part of those who voted for Castillo and who were confident he would walk away from it.

Appoint Bellido as Prime Minister, a homophobic politician, who believes Cuba is a democracy and finds it difficult to label the Shining Path atrocities as terrorism, does the opposite.

Bellido’s only political virtue seems to be his closeness to the party leader.

“Castillo’s alliance with Cerrón is clear. The election of Bellido and his retention in power over figures like Francke, what he does is just make it transparent,” Venturo summed up.

Old left

The executive is eminently political and it has representatives from various sectors of the left, including MPs, former MPs, former candidates, historical figures and trade unionists.

What he doesn’t have is independent from the center which make it possible to give a message of openness, “broad base” and with a vocation of dialogue.

“He is a provincial left, who is used to confrontation and polarization to negotiate from this conflict scenario. But they don’t understand that the scenario in Peru today is not suited to this way of doing politics, ”Venturo said.

Beyond that, it is also a conservative, traditional and left-wing government. “anachronistic”, as evidenced by profiles such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs Héctor Béjar, sociologist and ex-guerrilla of 85 years, or Ciro Gálvez, a 72-year-old Quechuablante and indigenous notary who will be Minister of Cultures.

“These are things of the past. That this government does not approach gender parity it is something that had not been seen for several decades. And I have the impression that a state administration will land in which the state will be the beginning and the end of all social and political dynamics. This is what we are seeing, ”Venturo said.

Gender and minorities

The absence of women, on the one hand, and homophobic comments de Bellido, on the other hand, clearly draws something that was already known: Castillo, whose origins are very conservative and religious, does not regard issues of fairness and discrimination as a priority.

In this regard, criticism has focused on the role of the New Peru Party, the progressive left led by former presidential candidate Verónika Mendoza, who was the only political group remarkable beyond Free Peru by saluting the government of Castillo.

They also made their contribution to Anahí Durand, a feminist sociologist very close to Mendoza who will be the Minister for Women, whose main task will be to defend within a mainly male and masculinized executive, tenuous advances andn the gender policies that the country has had.

However, the first feminist and activist voices of LGTBI were open criticism and they see this Executive as a “fifteen year” step back.

Congress and the miracle solution

The questions to the executive are of such magnitude that many see it as a deliberate strategy for Congress, dominated by an opposition ranging from the far right to the liberal center, deny you trust and thus trigger a government crisis.

Congress can deny confidence to the cabinet as a whole and force replacement, but it can only do it twice in the five-year legislature.

If this happens, the Constitution empowers the president dissolve the chamber and call new electionsTherefore, burning this “silver bullet” just a few days after the start of the legislature is risky.

For the moment, Castillo has the support of his 37 deputies in Congress, the 5 of Juntos por el Perú (the coalition where New Peru is located) and of some deputies from the political center who for the moment prevent the possibility of impeachment proceedings presidential.

Congress has the option of censoring ministers and expelling them one at a time if it wishes.

The author is a journalist for EFE