Peru’s Coup Regime Orders Cabinet Reshuffle After Expelling Mexican Ambassador Amid Political Crisis
© AFP 2023 / ERNESTO BENAVIDES
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The appointment of the defense minister who’s seen as responsible for dozens of deaths in recent weeks is a clear signal of the alarming direction the country’s headed towards, observers say.
The crisis-stricken regime of Dina Boluarte in Peru has promoted the defense minister who oversaw the ongoing bloody crackdown in the country that left at least 26 Peruvians dead in less than two weeks.
It remains to be seen whether the personnel changes will be enough to pacify protesters, however.
“Without any remorse, today Alberto Otarola, one of the main politicians responsible for the deaths of 26 Peruvians, is sworn in as the new prime minister," wrote Sigrid Bazan, a left-leaning member of Congress.
After spending just 11 days as Peru’s defense minister, Otarola was named prime minister, and four other ministers were replaced.
Otarola reinforced widespread suspicions that the US had a hand in what’s being characterized as a “parliamentary coup” against the country’s first working-class indigenous president, Pedro Castillo, when he met with CIA-trained US Ambassador Lisa Kennard just two days before.
Otarola’s predecessor, Pedro Angulo Arana, provoked a serious backlash earlier in the week by suggesting the mainly-Indigenous demonstrators were to blame for their own deaths because "they don't speak Spanish and the police don't understand them."
Primer Ministro de Perú (el gobierno peruano) explica en televisión que las muertes de manifestantes fuera de Lima se debe a que "ellos no hablan español y la policía no los entiende"...se puede ser más estúpido, pero no más racista!! pic.twitter.com/q8PdNDR5HL
— DΛViD.cu (@David_qva) December 21, 2022
The Boluarte regime — and the unpopular legislature behind it — seemed to gamble that the new additions to the cabinet and a plan to move up planned presidential elections to 2024 would be enough to bring demonstrators to heel.
But protests have shown little signs of fizzling out, and the response on social media suggests Peru’s opposition isn’t going anywhere.
El gabinete presidido por el señor Otárola es un tributo al crimen y a la impunidad. Como ministro de Defensa, Otárola fue el vocero de la amenaza prepotente, la violencia represiva y el autoritarismo antidemocrático. OTÁROLA TIENE CULPAS QUE PAGAR.
— Silvana Robles (@SilvanaRoblesE) December 21, 2022
“The cabinet chaired by Mr. Otárola is a tribute to crime and impunity,” observed leftist Congress member Silvana Robles. “As Minister of Defense, Otárola was the spokesman for the overbearing threat, repressive violence, and anti-democratic authoritarianism.”
21 December 2022, 01:35 GMT
