On 4 August, Peru’s national congress denied a vote of confidence in President Martín Vizcarra’s new cabinet, forcing the resignation of all 19 ministers, including prime minister Pedro Cateriano.
Analysis:
Cateriano lasted just 20 days in the job, following a major cabinet reshuffle on 15 July at the strat of Vizcarra’s final year in office. The deepening divisions between congress and the Vizcarra executive have brought Peruvian politics to a stalemate, which now threatens to become a full-scale constitutional crisis. A vote of confidence in the previous cabinet on 28 May was narrowly approved, based on Vizcarra’s public support and legislators’ fears that the president might dissolve congress for the second time in under a year. But with popular approval fading in light of the country’s worsening health and economic emergencies, and the constitution preventing the dissolution of congress in the final year of a presidential term, the balance of power has now shifted. With Peru in urgent need of a functioning government, Vizcarra will now face significant pressure to cede to congress’s demands.
- As per the constitution, Cateriano presented the new cabinet to congress on 3 August, and outlined the government’s agenda for its final year. After more than 20 hours of debate, at 7:00am the next morning, just 37 legislators voted to approve the cabinet, well short of the 66 required, while 54 voted against, and 34 abstained.
- Cateriano had been expected to face opposition from a number of smaller parties, but the loss of support of the two largest parties in congress – the centrist Acción Popular (AP), with just four out of 25 deputies backing the cabinet, and centre-right Alianza para el Progreso, with all 22 abstaining – ultimately proved decisive.
- Legislators from various parties offered a range of explanations for their rejection of the cabinet, citing the policy agenda presented by Cateriano – said to have provided insufficient detail on Peru’s response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) health emergency, and to have over-emphasised the role of mining and private sector investment in the country’s future economic recovery – as well as objections to a number of ministers included in the cabinet.
- Cateriano himself claimed that the president of congress, Manuel Merino of the AP, had privately offered him the party’s support if Education Minister Martín Benavides was replaced. Benavides is currently facing a vote of censure from congress, over the government’s unpopular university reform plan.
- Other cabinet members facing criticism are Labour Minister Martín Ruggiero, thought to be too inexperienced, and Economy Minister María Antonieta Alva, who is facing scrutiny over a consultancy contract awarded in November 2019 to a company in which her father and brother are shareholders.
- Vizcarra responded angrily to the rejection of the cabinet, accusing congress of “playing with the country’s destiny” at a time of crisis, in the name of “private interests”. He insisted that “we are not going to give up defending the interests of Peruvians, nor are we going to enter into negotiations behind the backs of citizens”.
Looking Ahead: Vizcarra has just 72 hours to name a new cabinet, although all ministers except Cateriano are allowed to be reselected. However, with congress now protected from dissolution, some level of compromise is needed to break this deadlock, and to avoid adding a constitutional crisis to the ongoing health and economic emergencies.