Peru: Pedro Castillo changed cabinet under pressure | Forced by Congress and the hegemonic press and in the midst of internal strife

From Lima

Under pressure from the opposition Congress and the hegemonic press, and against the backdrop of internal disagreements between members of the government, the president Pedro Castillo decided to change ministerial cabinet. He announced it on Wednesday afternoon in a brief message to the country. The first cabinet of the Castillo government, led by Guido Bellido, fell after a little over two months in power. The president stressed that he was changing cabinet to favor “governability”. The opposition applauded Castillo’s decision. On the contrary, at the head of the ruling party Free peru (PL), of which Bellido is a deputy and leader, the departure of his main dossier in a government where different sectors of the left coexist did not go well. In the ruling party, they spoke of “betrayal” for this change.

As the new head of the ministerial cabinet, the former lawmaker was sworn in on Wednesday evening Mirtha Vasquez, lawyer and leftist politician who was president of Congress. He is not a member of the PL. Vásquez assumed the presidency of Congress amid the severe political crisis of November 2020, when the country had three presidents in one week, and held that post until the end of the transitional government of Francisco sagasti, Last July. As President of Congress, she had a dialogical and conciliatory demeanor and demonstrated a political capacity to manage a divided and complicated Parliament.

“Historical memory”

Seven ministers have been changed and twelve have been ratified. In addition to the leadership of the cabinet, changes have taken place in the interior, education, labor, energy and mining, production and culture. An important appointment was that of Gisela Ortiz in Culture. Ortiz is the sister of one of the students of the University of La Cantuta assassinated by the government of Alberto Fujimori, one of the cases in which the former dictator was sentenced to 25 years. He swore by “historical memory”. Although it is not a joint cabinet, the representation of women goes from two to five, and a woman heads the cabinet.

The ministerial crisis comes amid extreme tension between the Executive and Congress, as the unicameral right-wing parliament was preparing to censor the Minister of Labor in the coming days, Iber Maravi, one of those who have changed, for whom they already had the necessary voices assured, and the opposition had raised the tone of its demands for the departure of Bellido. The most extreme sectors, led by Fujimori, engaged in coup maneuvers, had threatened a possible dismissal of Castillo if Bellido, whom they accuse of being a “radical leftist”, continued in office. .

Bellido in the crosshairs

The leadership of Bellido, a congressman and leader of the PL, was harshly criticized by the parliamentary right and the media, but had also been questioned by sections of the government itself for statements which clashed with what was said by the president and other ministers. , and that more than a sudden they put the government in trouble. The most recent was his announcement a few days ago of the nationalization of gas, which Castillo, who had recently denied any possible nationalization, had to deny. In Bellido’s liabilities, past macho and homophobic statements have been added.

Before Castillo, Bellido, the main letter of the PL in the executive, replied to the general secretary of the PL, Vladimir cerron, who is fighting to expand his share of power in government and to radicalize Castillo’s presidency. Besides the PL, the other sectors of the government are the allies of other left parties summoned by the president and the group of teaching leaders very close to Professor Castillo, sectors that Bellido and Cerrón have hit. The change of cabinet strengthens Castillo’s alliances with various progressive sectors and weakens the PL within the executive.

“Treason”

The secretary general of the PL did not hide his discomfort at the start of his main file in the government, he went out to support the defenestré Bellido. Before meeting the new ministers, Cerrón demanded that the president get rid of his allies from other sectors of the left and concentrate all power in the PL. The appointment of the new cabinet did not respond to this request. It includes allies from other sectors of the left and, to the chagrin of the ruling party sector, a PL lawmaker notoriously opposed to Cerrón, Betsy Chávez, who is taking control of the Labor Party. Cerrón’s brother, Waldemar, spokesperson for the ruling party, reacted by announcing that he would not support the new cabinet. “It’s a betrayal,” he said. However, Cerrón does not control the entire seat of government, with 37 seats out of a total of 130. Castillo reassured the opposition, which gives it some air, but now a sector of his own caucus is threatening to move into the opposition.