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The now former Minister of the Interior of Peru, Luis Barrenzuela, had made a party on October 31, thus violating a ban decreed days before.
The Minister of the Interior of Peru, Luis Barranzuela, resigned this Tuesday, less than a month after taking office, questioned for having held a party at his home in violation of a prohibition aimed at preventing COVID-19 infections.
“Announcement that I have received and accepted the resignation of Interior Minister Luis Barranzuela. In the next few hours I will take the oath of office who will succeed him, ”leftist president Pedro Castillo tweeted.
Announcement that I have received and accepted the resignation of Interior Minister Luis Barranzuela. In the next few hours I will take the oath to who will succeed in office. Our commitment continues to be to guarantee the governance of the country.
– Pedro Castillo Terrones (@PedroCastilloTe) November 3, 2021
A 58-year-old retired police officer and lawyer, Barranzuela was in the eye of the hurricane after the TV Latina channel reported that he had held a party at his house in Lima on Sunday, on the Day of the Creole Song and Halloween night, something that had been expressly prohibited by decree days before.
After the revelation, the minister received an avalanche of criticism from all political sectors. She defended herself on Monday stating that it was not a party, but a work meeting, but the chief of staff, Mirtha Vásquez, said her explanation was “unacceptable.”
After resigning, Barranzuela wrote on Twitter that he was the victim of “false accusations” and justified his departure “out of respect for governance and the confidence of the President of the Republic.”
The Peruvian Congress, controlled by the right-wing opposition, must decide this Thursday whether or not to grant a vote of confidence to the cabinet headed by Vásquez. This vote is essential for the cabinet to remain in office and the local press anticipated that it would deny it if Barranzuela continued in office.
“Important decision by our president,” Vásquez tweeted after the minister’s resignation. “Stability, consensus and social peace in our country is our commitment to continue,” he added.
Peru, of 33 million inhabitants, has been hit hard by the pandemic, although new cases have been declining since May. It accumulates 2.2 million infections and more than 200,000 deaths, the country with the highest mortality rate.
Barranzuela had been appointed head of the Interior when Castillo restructured the cabinet on October 6, two months after assuming the presidency.
Castillo has navigated rough waters since he took power on July 28. A month ago he fired seven ministers (out of a total of 19), including the then chief of staff, Guido Bellido, and in mid-August he changed his chancellor. (I)
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