Gustavo Adrianzen announced his resignation in a nationwide address just hours after unpopular President Dina Boluarte had sworn in new ministers, including a new finance chief. All other ministers must resign alongside Adrianzen, including those named earlier on Tuesday, although Boluarte may rename them to their posts as long as she appoints a new prime minister.
The cabinet collapse was all but inevitable. The opposition-led Congress had previously scheduled a vote of no confidence against Adrianzen for Wednesday, and the cabinet reshuffle further emboldened congressional groups to insist on ousting him. Boluarte’s popularity rating reached a record low of 2% in an Ipsos poll published this week.
Though new Finance Minister Raul Perez-Reyes will have to resign, Boluarte may choose to reappoint the loyal official who has already served as transport minister and production minister during her presidency. He is already Boluarte’s fourth finance chief in her two-year presidency.
However, she may weigh the support that Perez-Reyes’ predecessor mustered in the minutes before his removal. As rumors traveled of the potential removal of now-former Finance Minister Jose Salardi, the heads of Peru’s top business groups released a statement in support of his policies.
Replacing Salardi months into the role “will create uncertainty in the economy with a change so quick and premature,” said Jose Zapata, the head of business trade group Confiep in an interview with the RPP radio network just before the new appointment. “And we also think he was a minister who has been doing things well.”
