Peruvian Prime Minister resigns, investigated for corruption

First modification: 04/08/2022 – 13:07

“For personal reasons, I put at your disposal the position of president of the Council of Ministers,” Torres said in a letter sent to the president.

“I take this opportunity to thank you for the trust placed in me, first as Minister of Justice, and then as Premier,” he added in the letter posted on Twitter.

Torres, who took office in February, is the fourth chief of staff to leave office amid the controversies surrounding Castillo.

The Prosecutor’s Office has five open investigations into the president, including for alleged corruption and aggravated collusion in a public works project, for plagiarism in his university thesis, and for influence peddling in a state contract for the acquisition of fuel.

It is a tradition in Peru that all the ministers put their positions at the disposal of the president when the prime minister resigns, who is in charge of coordinating the members of the cabinet and managing the relations of the Executive with the other powers of the State.

Torres, 79, accompanied Castillo from his time as a candidate for the presidency and was appointed Minister of Justice in the first ministerial cabinet of the Government, a position he held until February.

“He explains that his resignation is to return to university classrooms, but we are talking about a person who is 79 years old and who is somehow retired from the academic field. It seems more like a way to hide the truth”, estimates the Peruvian political analyst Daniel Iglesias.

“One can interpret this resignation as the first crack within the coalition that supports President Pedro Castillo. In any case, the country has already become very difficult to govern. I personally don’t believe that Castillo can finish his mandate under these conditions, because he will lack ministers, people with whom to work. The population is beginning to lose patience and the rejection that exists towards the Peruvian president is extremely high,” Iglesias told RFI.

Castillo celebrated a year in power on July 28, and in addition to the judicial siege, he has faced two attempts to remove him from Congress, and has a disapproval of 74% in public opinion, according to surveys.