Peruvian President Pedro Castillo (pic) who is on his third Cabinet in six months in office, did not say if Prime Minister Hector Valer would be leaving or what other specific ministerial changes he would make. — AFP pic
LIMA, Feb 5 — Peruvian President Pedro Castillo said yesterday that he will reshuffle his Cabinet, named just three days ago, after his pick for prime minister was widely condemned over allegations that he beat his daughter and late wife.
Castillo, who is on his third Cabinet in six months in office, did not say if Prime Minister Hector Valer would be leaving or what other specific ministerial changes he would make.
In a recorded message broadcast on national TV, Castillo said his reshuffled Cabinet would include voices from a diverse group of political sectors. He did not give a timeline for a new slate of ministers.
Castillo, a former teacher raised in a poor Andean village, is a member of a Marxist-Leninist party, but in his presidency has moved increasingly to the right. Valer is a lawmaker who won his seat campaigning for a far-right party before defecting and joining a congressional bloc that is friendly to Castillo.
His latest Cabinet still needs to be confirmed through a Congressional vote.
Still, it is likely that Castillo will seek a new Prime Minister as many lawmakers have said they would reject Valer’s appointment. In his recorded message, Castillo also said that it was important to stand up to violence against women.
Valer denied on Thursday that he had beat his daughter and late wife, the subject of two police complaints.
Peru’s prime minister is a powerful figure. The PM is the chief adviser to the president and also presides and helps appoint the rest of the Cabinet. — Reuters