Peruvian Defense Minister Walter Agiala resigned on Monday after being questioned about the pressure he allegedly exerted to promote officials close to the new left-wing president’s government.
“I put my office at the disposal of the President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces,” Agiala said via Twitter after a meeting with President Pedro Castillo at the Government House.
President Castillo has not confirmed at this stage whether he has accepted the resignation of Mr Agialas, a 50-year-old former judge.
Mr Castillo ousted four days ago the head of the army’s general staff, General Jose Viscara, and the chief of the general staff of the air force, Brigadier General Jorge Chaparo.
The two senior officials claimed Monday that their dismissals were due to differences of opinion with Minister Agiala and the Secretary-General of the Presidency, Bruno Pacheco, who asked them to proceed illegally with promotions of officials close to the government.
Last week, former Interior Minister Luis Barrancuela submitted his resignation after the uproar caused by a party at his home amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
On October 7, the head of state replaced Prime Minister Guido Vegidos and seven members of the government. In August, he changed foreign minister.
In power since July 28, Pedro Castillo, who was elected by a radical left party, won the second round of the June 6 election over the populist right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori by a margin of tens of thousands of votes.
The first three months of the former teacher and trade unionist rule have been marked by several storms, political and economic. Mr Castillo has recently distanced himself from Perú Libre (“Free Peru”), the party with which he was elected, in a bid to promote a more moderate image. His government secured a vote of confidence from the right-wing Congress in Congress last week.
.
