PERU

On March 31, the Plenary of the Peruvian Congress approved the censure of the Minister of Health, Hernán Condori, in the context of the questioning of his lack of suitability for the position and for being a promoter of the use of arracimada water. With 71 votes in favor, 32 against and 13 abstentions, the head of Minsa must resign and leave office in the next 72 hours. The Executive is expected to appoint Condori’s replacement soon. 

The official document presented by Diego Bazán (Avanza País) refers that Condori “exercised his profession in an inadequate manner by promoting the sale of Cluster X2 (‘agua arracimada’) attributing to it medicinal properties that have not been proven and certified by any official or academic authority”. Likewise, the document questions the minister for promoting a one-minute cervical cancer diagnosis service, since it would not have the specialty of gynecology and oncology. 

The motion also states that the appointment of Hernán Condori “provoked a unanimous rejection by the country’s medical community”, in reference to the criticisms of the Peruvian Medical Association to the official. Along the same lines, the text mentions that Condori is being investigated for corruption offenses when he held the position of director of the Chanchamayo health network in 2019, among other arguments.