By Maria Cervantes
LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvian opposition lawmakers on Wednesday launched a censorship movement to overthrow the government’s economy minister, underlining political tensions as the Andean country approaches its economic decline in decades due to the coronavirus pandemic.
If accepted in Congress and voted through by legislators, María Antonieta Alva, a 35-year-old Harvard-educated civil servant, a key figure in President Martín Vizcarra’s administration, would be forced to resign.
Lawmakers have argued about the government’s handling of Peru’s mining economy by the pandemic, which has hit the South American country very hard despite a large bailout led by Alva.
The economy, which fell 30% in this quarter of the year, is expected to contract 12% this year, the government announced in August, after peak operations stopped in March.
Peru has the highest number of COVID-19 infections in South America, Brazil, according to a Reuters tally and the worst consistent with the capita death rate in the world.
Alva faced a congressional complaint last week over the government’s economic stimulus package, which is about 20% of GDP, one of the most competitive in the region.
Critics said the plan, which included social bonds and credit plans for the companies suffering, did not go far enough to small businesses.
(Reporting via Maria Cervantes; Additional reporting by Dante Alva; Written via Cassandra Garrison; Edited via Tom Brown)