Illustration Credit: Caricaturas de Luján
On Tuesday, President Pedro Castillo swore in a new cabinet, his third in just six months since taking office. The latest ministerial reshuffle comes amidst a crime wave which has led the government to decree a 45-day state of emergency in the regions of Lima and Callao, effectively suspending citizens’ constitutional rights and allowing the armed forces to assist the police.
The collapse of Castillo’s second cabinet is the result of a corruption scandal that involves the National Police and Castillo’s inner circle advisors. Avelino Guillén, the former Minister of Interior, repeatedly warned Castillo about the need to remove Javier Gallardo, the National Police General Commander, for allegedly leading a scheme that facilitated the promotion of favored generals to high positions of police power.
Although Castillo ended up dismissing Commander Gallardo, the resulting political fallout prompted several ministers to leave their posts. Guillén resigned last Friday which helped set in motion the resignation of higher profile cabinet members like Prime Minister Mirtha Vásquez and Minister of Economy and Finance Pedro Francke. Vásquez’s resignation caused President Castillo to start from scratch and propose a new cabinet led by Prime Minister Héctor Valer. Though Valer’s appointment was met with a wave of criticism after domestic allegations surfaced, markets responded well after Castillo named Oscar Graham–a former central bank economist–as finance minister. To finalize the reshuffling, Castillo’s new cabinet still needs to be confirmed by Congress within the next month.
