One day before being sworn in as President of the Republic, Keiko Fujimori announced that Luis Galarreta, general secretary of Fuerza Popular and former head of Congress, will be the head of the first Ministerial Cabinet of her administration. She also introduced the former director of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) Elmer Cuba as the next Minister of Economy and Finance and lawyer and journalist Carlos Espá as the new Foreign Minister.
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The other 16 members of the Council of Ministers will be announced this Tuesday. The swearing-in ceremony of the team is scheduled to start at 5 in the afternoon.
Fujimori Higuchi highlighted that Galarreta “knows Congress” and has dedicated much of his life to public service. She added that the new prime minister knows that governing requires decision, dialogue, and firmness. But also “the ability to reach agreements.”
“I have asked Mr. Galarreta to lead a united cabinet, to work with a sense of urgency, to listen to the citizens, and that his management be measured by the results delivered. Mr. Galarreta will have my trust, my support, but also my demand. Peruvians do not expect explanations, they expect results”, she stated.
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After announcing Cuba and Espá as Ministers of Economy and Finance and Foreign Affairs, respectively, the elected head of state left and left the future Cabinet members to answer the press questions.
Galarreta detailed that he has already had meetings with the upcoming Ministers of Interior and Defense to address citizen security measures.
He also specified that the first Council of Ministers will take place on Wednesday, July 29 before the civic-military parade and march.
“Several supreme decrees are already being prepared and we are working on the request for delegation of powers,” he added.
Fujimori Huguchi, two weeks ago, anticipated that her government will consider using emergency decrees to accelerate works in view of the El Niño phenomenon (FEN) and also confirmed, as El Comercio revealed at the time, that she will request powers to legislate on security and economy, among others, from the bicameral Congress.
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The next head of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) also emphasized that in the first 100 days of the new government administration, “part of the promises” made by her party through the “Peru with order” plan in the last electoral campaign will be seen.
“We already have the El Niño phenomenon upon us, but we are very behind with what the current government has done. We have found the truth in every sector a lot of delay and a complicated situation,” he expressed.
Galarreta also stated that the Fujimori Higuchi government “will be one of much dialogue” and noted that on Sunday, after the elections of the board of directors in Congress, he was able to talk with Senator Daniel Barragán (Civic Works Party), who was Miguel Torres’ (Fuerza Popular) opponent for the leadership of the Upper House, and with representatives of the Good Government Party, which obtained the presidency of the chamber of deputies.
“The dialogue will not only be with the political forces, which has to do with bills, but with all social forces in the country, unions, workers, entrepreneurs, we will be a government of much dialogue,” he added.
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The future of Betssy Chávez
In turn, Espá indicated that the new government believes in the rule of law and the supremacy of the law “beyond personal antipathies.”
And he emphasized that the Peruvian foreign ministry, which he will lead, “has the tradition of respecting international principles,” including the Caracas Asylum Convention of 1954, when asked about the situation of former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, sentenced to 11 years and five months in prison for the December 7, 2022 coup d’état and who has been sheltered in the Mexican embassy in Peru since last November.
The next Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that Chávez Chino’s future will be decided in the Council of Ministers.
For his part, Cuba assured that when he assumes the MEF, he will not allow state resources to be squandered and announced that some regulations approved by the previous Congress, which perforate the fiscal box, will have to be changed.
“We will be relentless with the use of those resources. All Peruvians pay taxes when we consume any product. We pay VAT, we pay Income Taxes, we pay Selective Tax on various products and it is not fair that someone can squander it,” he pointed out.
The other cards
Sources close to the Fuerza Popular leadership told this newspaper that Senator César Astudillo (Fuerza Popular), former general commander of the Army, is the main candidate to take over the Ministry of the Interior. They added that the option of David Ojeda Parra, former head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and former advisor to Ernesto Álvarez in the PCM, has lost weight in recent days.
The same sources mentioned that businessman Luis Dyer, head of the Fuerza Popular poll watchers command, will be part of the Cabinet. One of the portfolios being considered for him is Health, although it is not yet confirmed.
They also indicated that former congressman Juan Sheput could take over the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion, a position he already held in Alejandro Toledo’s government (2001-2006).
And, additionally, they commented that Rafael Rey, Minister of Production and Defense in Alan García’s second government (2006-2011), has chances to take over the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC).
“There are no doubts about Rey’s honorability and he will go to a portfolio where order and cleanliness need to be established. He has government experience,” they commented.
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Economist Marco Vinelli, who was general coordinator of Fuerza Popular during the transfer process, would be the new Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation.
The opposition in Congress spoke out about the announcement of the first three members of the Ministerial Cabinet. For example, Senator Alfonso López Chau (Ahora Nación) stated that the choice of Galarreta Velarde as head of the PCM “is legitimate.”
He also welcomed the nomination of Cuba for the MEF, whom he described as “a good economist.” “They have the right to choose their Cabinet, we cannot question when a president appoints his Cabinet, we will see who else [is] presented,” he said.
López Chau, former presidential candidate of Ahora Nación, said that the ruling party and the opposition must seek consensus to strengthen education. “Will the same Sunedu continue? What do we do with the 70 universities that have been approved?” he questioned.
In turn, deputy and general secretary of Juntos por el Perú, Ernesto Zunini, anticipated that his bench will begin to oversee the new Executive.
“At this moment, there are several priorities, citizen security continues to fail on all fronts. [And the solution] is not to give more punitive powers to the National Police, which needs a profound reform. And, secondly, we have an approaching El Niño phenomenon, we hope to have concrete responses,” he told the press.
The point of view
Political analyst Enrique Castillo said that Galarreta “is a man who has worked in politics for a long time,” recalling that he has been a congressman and Andean parliamentarian, as well as a militant and leader in the PPC and Fuerza Popular. “He has the greatest qualities to generate spaces for dialogue,” he said.
In “We Have to Talk,” a video podcast by El Comercio, Castillo warned that appointing Galarreta as prime minister, who is also the first vice president of the Republic, carries a risk.
“If there were a scandal and Congress censured him, he would be politically weakened if he had to replace the president. Also, being general secretary of Fuerza Popular, he is a subordinate of the president and it is vital that he has the ability to say ‘no’ in certain circumstances, acting as an advisor and not just as a spokesperson,” he emphasized.
Castillo welcomed the appointment of Cuba in the MEF because “he is one of the best economists in the country and knows how to propose solutions.” However, he stressed that ministers will be known by their actions and not just their statements.
“One thing is to be director of the BCR and another to handle the pressures of being a Minister of Economy. He will face pressures from congressmen who passed those laws [that create a hole in the fiscal box], also from regional governments, which have received supplementary credits not to do works, but for current expenses or corruption in Dina Boluarte’s administration,” he concluded.
More information
President-elect Keiko Fujimori met this Monday with the King of Spain, Felipe VI, at the Torre Tagle Palace in downtown Lima. She was accompanied by Espá. She also had meetings with other high international authorities.
Earlier, Fujimori Higuchi received the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, at the Office of the President-Elect (OPE).
Galarreta Velarde, for his part, was sworn in this Monday as Andean parliamentarian, a position in which he was re-elected.
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