LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvian President Pedro Castillo said on Monday that he would replace Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez and shuffle his center-left Cabinet, setting the stage for him to nominate his third team of ministers after just six months in office.
“As I have always announced in my speeches, the Cabinet is constantly being evaluated. For this reason, I have decided to renew it and form a new team,” he said.
It was not immediately clear if he would remove Finance Minister Pedro Francke, who is popular with markets and has maintained economic stability in the copper-rich country.
What Castillo’s new Cabinet may look like remains a wild card. He swore in a far-left Cabinet in July, sending Peru’s sol currency to record lows amid investor concern.
But he moderated his stance in October when he nominated Vasquez, a moderate-left lawyer and former president of congress.
Castillo has not yet set a date for the new Cabinet to be sworn in.
Vasquez has yet to publicly address the fact that she is leaving the post. Over the weekend, an ally of Vasquez – Interior Minister Avelino Guillen, who is in charge of the police – submitted his resignation.
(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Sandra Maler)
