PERU

On October 6, the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, swore in the new Ministerial Cabinet, headed by Mirtha Vásquez, replacing Guido Bellido. Likewise, the Congresswoman of Peru Libre, Betsy Chávez, has been appointed as Minister of Labor, replacing Iber Maraví. Meanwhile, Gisela Ortíz, a human rights activist, was appointed as Minister of Culture, replacing Ciro Gálvez. In addition, Castillo ratified Pedro Francke as Minister of Economy and Finance and Roberto Sánchez as Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism. The new officials are already in office.

Below you will find more information on the newly appointed and ratified ministers:

• President of the Council of Ministers, Mirtha Vásquez

Vásquez is a lawyer and holds a Master’s degree in Social Management from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. The new Prime Minister was the last President of Congress during the government of Francisco Sagasti (2020-2021). The new government leader is a woman known for her environmental activism and her defence of women’s rights. During the ceremony, Vázquez swore for ” this country of women and men who struggle every day to live with dignity, without discrimination”.

• Ministry of Labor, Betssy Chávez

The new minister is a lawyer from the National University Jorge Basadre Grohmann of Tacna and holds a Master’s degree in Constitutional Law from the University José Carlos Mariátegui. She is also a congresswoman for the Peru Libre political party, representing the Tacna region. Previously she served as a lawyer in the Regional Government of Tacna (2020) and technical assistant in Congress (2017-2020). Chávez is the only member of the Peru Libre bench in the new ministerial cabinet.

• Ministry of Economy and Finance, Pedro Francke

The Minister ratified in his office is an economist, researcher and consultant expert in poverty, health and social policies. He was general manager of Essalud between August 2011 and April 2012, during the government of Ollanta Humala. At the international level, the economist has consulted for different organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

• Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roberto Sánchez Palomino.

The Minister ratified in his office is a psychologist from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and has a master’s degree from that university. He is president of the political party Juntos por el Perú, a movement that Pedro Castillo allied with for the second round of the elections. Sanchez was elected congressman last April for the 2021-2026 term.