LIMA, Peru (AP) – Peru was discovered tuesday as a minister after Congress refused to approve the newly appointed cabinet through President Martín Vizcarra.
The vote of no confidence led to the resignation of the 19 cabinet ministers and may hinder the government’s efforts to involve the coronavirus pandemic.
The Andean country has the 3rd highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Latin America, with more than 19,000 deaths. The World Bank has forecast a 12% drop this year in the Peruvian economy, which saw tourism revenues fall due to the pandemic and affected thousands of companies a three-month national closure.
According to Peruvian law, Vizcarra has hours after the vote to provide a new cabinet to Congress, composed of 130 lawmakers who replenish 10 political parties.
The president, who is entering the final year of his term, said in a nationally televised confrontation that failed congressional approval for the new cabinet because some lawmakers put “their own interests before national interests.”
“This is the first time in more than 20 years that Congress rejects,” a new Cabinet said. “Despite the fitness and economic crisis we are going through, Congress has to take on some other political crisis in this country.”
Peru’s legislature and executive force have been pitted against each other since 2018, when a majority in Congress led by opposition leader Keiko Fujimori forced then-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to resign on corruption allegations. Kuczynski replaced through Vizcarra, who was replaced by the vice president,
Vizcarra disbanded Congress the following year, when they were both fighting over judicial appointments and anti-corruption measures.
Three former Peruvian presidents are recently investigating corruption allegations involving Brazilian structure giant Odebrecht, which admitted to paying $800 million in bribes to win public works contracts in Latin America. Fujimori is also investigated for allegedly taking money from Odebrecht for his political campaigns.
A new Congress elected in special elections in January and will remain in the workplace until next year. But neither side constitutes Vizcarra, which has continued with an anti-corruption agenda.
Vizcarra cited several points in the government’s rejection, adding opposition to an education minister seeking to reform Peru’s higher education system. The families of several legislators own or run personal universities that would be affected by the proposed reforms.
Analysts have speculated that some left-wing party lawmakers voted against the Cabinet on Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano’s plans to publicize primary mining projects that have encountered fierce resistance from farmers concerned about water resource contamination.