Peru’s interim president, Dina Boluarte, is planning a cabinet reshuffle after violent protests against the impeachment of her predecessor, Pedro Castillo. Among other things, she wants to fill the post of prime minister, Boluarte said in an interview, as reported by the Peruvian media. She wants to “counter social dissatisfaction” and “build bridges of dialogue,” said Boluarte. The cabinet reshuffle should therefore be implemented by Tuesday.
The head of cabinet is also called prime minister in Peru, but is only the highest-ranking minister and not the head of government in the South American country. Pedro Angulo has only held this post for around ten days.
By dissolving the Congress, then-President Castillo wanted to forestall a vote of no confidence in Parliament. His cabinet and the opposition accused him of a coup d’etat – Castillo was removed from office on December 7, arrested and held in custody. Boluarte took over.
State of emergency for 30 days
On Thursday, the court ordered another 18 months in custody. In the south and south-east of Peru, where the former village school teacher has a particularly large number of supporters, but also in the capital Lima, there have been protests against his dismissal and clashes between demonstrators and the police. The Boluartes government declared a state of emergency for 30 days and a five-day night curfew in 15 provinces.
At least 17 people were killed in clashes, according to the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights. Another five people died in traffic accidents and other incidents related to road blockades. Education Minister Patricia Correa and Culture Minister Jair Pérez resigned over the dead.
Air and train traffic has been suspended in parts of the Andes, according to Peruvian media, thousands of tourists have been stuck in the city of Cusco, which the government has been taking away since Friday.
