PERU

On October 5, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) confirmed today the ratification of economist Julio Velarde as president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP). The PCM also proposed economists Roxana Barrantes, José Távara and Germán Alarco as directors of the BCR on behalf of the Executive Branch. Congress will have to elect the remaining three members of the monetary entity, as well as ratify the names proposed by the government. It is expected that the Congress will appoint the new directors in the short term.

Velarde holds a master’s degree and PhD in economics from Brown University in the United States. The economist has been in charge of the country’s monetary policy for 15 years, when he was appointed head of the central bank by former president Alan García in 2006. In turn, the names proposed by the Executive Branch as directors of the BCRP are:

• Roxana Barrantes: Economist from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is currently Chief of Cabinet of Advisors of the Ministry of Energy and Mines and member of the Steering Committee of the Regional Dialogue on the Information Society (DIRSI in Spanish).
• José Távara: Economist and researcher in free competition policies. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Indecopi and has served as Deputy Ombudsman in the Ombudsman’s Office, Vice-Minister of Communications, Vice-President of OSIPTEL, member of TASTEM, Director of OSINERGMIN and CONCORTV.
• Germán Alarco: Economist and researcher specialising in macroeconomic, distributive, financial and transport infrastructure issues. He has been president of the National Centre for Strategic Planning, vice-minister of economy and advisor to the Minister of Economy and an official of the BCR.

In the case of the directors elected by Congress, the legislative would have a consensus on at least two names for the position of directors in the issuing body. These would be economists Diego Macera, general manager of the Peruvian Institute of Economics, and Carlos Oliva, former minister of economics and current president of the Fiscal Council.