Peru: two months after taking office, the entire cabinet of President Pedro Castillo has resigned

The Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced this Wednesday, October 6 the resignation of its prime minister and all of his ministerial cabinet, two months after taking office, in a surprise message to the country broadcast on state television.

“I inform the country that today we have accepted the resignation of the President of the Council of Ministers, Guido Bellido Ugarte, whom I thank for his services,” Castillo said in his brief three-minute message.

The president avoided giving details of the resignation and announced that the new chief of staff and his members will meet overnight

The President of the Council (Prime Minister) Bellido was appointed on July 29 to head the first cabinet of the Castillo government and his resignation resulted in the rest of the cabinet, according to the Peruvian Constitution.

Bellido, a 41-year-old engineer with no political experience and member of the hard wing of the Marxist-Leninist Peru Libre party, was appointed on July 29 to head the first cabinet of the Castillo government, from the same party. . In his resignation letter, he indicated that he was leaving the executive at the request of Castillo.

“Having fulfilled all the functions corresponding to the institution, I am resigning irrevocably from the post of President of the Council of Ministers as you requested.”Bellido said in the letter, which will return to Congress to serve as a Member of Parliament.

Bellido had been involved in verbal clashes with the right-wing Congress for a week when he questioned the Minister of Labor for his alleged involvement in the terrorist attacks by the Shining Path Maoist group four decades ago.

Lawmakers had planned to bring forward a motion of censure this week against Labor chief Iber Maraví, whom Bellido and Castillo defend by denying his alleged involvement in subversive actions. The president of the Congress, the opponent María del Carmen Alva, said she was satisfied with the resignation and the possibility of changes in the ministerial cabinet.

The controversial political past of Maraví, a 61-year-old teacher union leader, is one of the factors of instability in relations between the executive and the legislature. “After several days of unnecessary uncertainty and highly questioned ministers, we welcome President Castillo’s decision to change cabinet. Congress is best suited for dialogue and governance,” the lawmaker tweeted.

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