Peruvian President Changes Foreign Minister and Three Cabinet Ministers

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Tuesday changed four ministers in her cabinet, including her foreign minister, but kept her interior minister Juan Santiváñez in office, who is being questioned over rising crime rates in the country.

The now ex-foreign minister Javier González-Olaechea, who was replaced by diplomat Elmer Schialer, was one of the first to recognize the victory of the Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González in the elections in that country, which caused Venezuela to break diplomatic relations with Peru, considering his statements “reckless.”

The other changes occurred in Foreign Trade, Culture and Housing. The latter portfolio was in the hands of Hania Pérez de Cuellar, who a week ago during a public activity, asked the attendees: “pray for all the authorities so that we do not falter, so that we are not tempted to steal.”

However, the president kept the Minister of the Interior under fire for the increase in crime, especially extortion, which has increased fivefold between 2021 and 2023.

He also questioned Health Minister César Vásquez for lowering the requirement for an exam for medical students seeking a position in the poorest health posts in the country.

Boluarte has just 6% approval rating, according to an August poll by the Institute of Peruvian Studies. Thanks to the protection of a coalition of political groups in Parliament, the president has survived seven attempts to remove her from office in her 19 months in office.

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