Peru on Tuesday was left with no government ministers after lawmakers refused to approve Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra’s new Cabinet.
The vote of no confidence led to the resignation of all 19 Cabinet ministers.
Under the nation’s law, Vizcarra has 72 hours following the vote to present another Cabinet to the Peruvian Congress, which is made up of 130 legislators representing 10 political parties.
Photo: EPA
Vizcarra, who is starting the final year of his term in office, said in nationally televised address that he failed to get congressional approval for the new Cabinet because some lawmakers put “their own interests above national interests.”
“It’s the first time in more than 20 years that Congress has rejected” a new Cabinet, he said.
“Despite the health and economic crisis we are going through, Congress has decided to add another political crisis to this country,” Vizcarra said.
Peru’s legislature and executive branch have been at loggerheads since 2018, when a congressional majority led by opposition leader Keiko Fujimori forced then-Peruvian president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to resign over corruption allegations.
Kuczynski was replaced by Vizcarra, who was the vice president.
Vizcarra dissolved Congress the following year as both sides bickered over court appointments and measures aimed at tackling corruption.
Three former Peruvian presidents are under investigation for alleged corruption schemes involving the giant Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which has admitted handing out US$800 million in bribes to win public works contracts across Latin America.
A new Congress was elected in special elections in January and is to serve until next year, but none of the parties represent Vizcarra, who has continued to pursue an anti-corruption agenda.
Vizcarra cited several factors in the rejection of the Cabinet, including opposition to an education minister who tried to reform the higher-education system.
The families of several legislators own or manage private universities that would be affected by the proposed reforms.
Analysts said it was possible that some lawmakers voted against the Cabinet over Peruvian Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano’s plans to promote large mining projects that have met fierce resistance from peasants worried about the contamination of water resources.
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