The swearing-in of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo.
“Castillo also recalled the political instability that Peru has experienced in the last five years, where there have been up to four presidents and a dissolved Congress.”
Peru’s President, Pedro Castillo, has had trouble retaining ministers. Castillo announced yet another new cabinet—the fourth in his six-month tenure, according to Spanish-language CNN en Español. Such rapid cabinet turnover has contributed to a sense of chaos engulfing the country and mounting questions over the president’s ability to survive the rest of his term. Castillo’s approval ratings have fallen steadily since his inauguration. Shortly after swearing in the new cabinet, the Spanish-language version of the popular British outlet BBC en Español, began reporting on scandals in the personal lives of newly appointed ministers. The outlet reports that the hoped for centrist cabinet did not materialize; rather, most of Castillo’s chosen ministers are loyalists and Marxists from his Free Peru Party. In recent years, Peru’s political climate has been highly volatile. Presidents have rarely finished their terms. In 2020, the country had three presidents in just one week. Peru’s constitution pits the Congress against the President, with the Congress capable of impeaching the president for the vague and ill-defined idea of “moral incapacity.” Peru’s political instability has the potential to spill over into international supply chains: the country is the second largest producer of copper in the world, and the sector has seen recent strikes at mining sites connected to the political environment.
Source:
“Pedro Castillo anuncia que nombrará a nuevo gabinete, su cuarto en seis meses (Pedro Castillo announces that he will appoint a new cabinet, his fourth in six months),” CNN en Español (Spanish-language version of the popular U.S. outlet), 4 February 2022. https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2022/02/04/pedro-castillo-el-presidente-de-peru-anuncia-que-nombrara-a-nuevo-gabinete-su-cuarto-en-seis-meses-orix/
Castillo will appoint a new president of the Council of Ministers, who, in turn, will appoint new heads of ministries. It will be the fourth cabinet in just six months of government…Castillo also recalled the political instability that Peru has experienced in the last five years, where there have been up to four presidents and a dissolved Congress, and said that citizens, especially the poorest “do not want to see more confrontations, nor obstructionist and anti-democratic behavior, nor vacancy announcements, announcements of the closing of Congress.”
Source: “Pedro Castillo nombra su cuarto gabinete en 6 meses, ¿por qué no consigue estabilizar a Perú? (Pedro Castillo appoints his fourth cabinet in 6 months, why can’t he stabilize Peru?),” BBC en Español (Spanish-language version of the popular British outlet), 5 February 2022. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-60269518
The last government of Peru lasted just over 72 hours. The ministerial cabinet that was sworn in by President Pedro Castillo on Tuesday, the fourth government in six months, is expected to last a little longer…The truth is that the short life of Castillo’s cabinets has exposed the instability that has characterized his presidency. Since he came to power against all odds, Castillo has alternated executives of diverse orientation, which has led his critics to accuse him of leading the country in an erratic direction, and several of his ministers had to resign in the midst of the scandal and challenged in Congress.
Image Information:
Image caption: The swearing-in of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo.
Source: Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/presidenciaperu/51340618647
Attribution: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0