Monthly Archives: November 2020

In an announcement made moments ago, President Manuel Merino de Lama said that “I want to make it known that I present my irrevocable resignation to the office of the President of the Republic.”

Merino opened his remarks by stating “It was a challenge I accepted and did not seek.”

Yesterday the new Peruvian cabinet was sworn into office. I normally wouldn’t spend a post on this, but the biographies of many are so interesting and their impact on the everything that happens in the country is so important that I felt compelled to share this information as provided by RPP Noticias.

Juan Sheput (Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion)

The former congressman of the Peruanos por el Kambio party, Juan Sheput Moore, will return to the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (MTPE).

The politician was chosen to replace Javier Palacios, who had been in office for only three months before the presidential vacancy.

Sheput was previously in charge of the MTPE, during the government of Alejandro Toledo, in 2005.

As a congressman, between 2016 and 2019, he promoted projects related to the incorporation of the bicameralism, the regulation of state advertising expenditure and the law of open museums.

After the closing of Congress on September 30th, he ran again in the congressional elections of 2020 without success.

Until now, he was the president of the Political Commission of the Contigo Political Party.

Now Sheput will have to spend its short period, until July 2021, recovering the nearly 6 million jobs lost in Peru, according to the latest national data from INEI.

In addition, it will have to decide how to continue with the measures that the previous minister was already preparing, such as the subsidy to the payroll.

Sheput has a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal. He also has a master’s degree from the Universidad Externado de Colombia, and a PhD in Engineering from the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos.

Through social media, Sheput has agreed with the decision of Congress and the subsequent election of Antero Flores-Aráoz as the new premier. He was one of the politicians who gave his support to the presidential vacancy through a communiqué, rejecting the expressions that qualified the situation as a coup d’état.

Franca Deza (Minister of Foreign Affairs)

Franca Lorella Deza Ferreccio was sworn in as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Deza had been the head of the General Office of Human Resources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2019, she also served as Director General of Treaties at the same location. She is currently a member of the Council of Honor of the Association of Diplomatic Officials of Peru in Activity.

In 2017, the newspaper El Peruano recorded the cessation of activities of Deza, after serving as Consul General of Peru in Barcelona, Spain.

Walter Chávez Cruz (Minister of Defense)

General EP (r) Walter Chávez Cruz was sworn in as Minister of Defense.

Walter Chávez Cruz has worked in the last years in diverse security companies, in the private sector. In the web page of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM), he appears as advisor II in this institution since August of this year.

Abel Salinas (Minister of Health)

Abel Salinas Rivas will take over the Ministry of Health in the midst of the health emergency due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

Between January and April 2018, during the government of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, he held the position under the premiership of Mercedes Aráoz.

The new Minister of Health is a Doctor of Medicine with undergraduate and postgraduate training at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He has a Master’s degree in Health Services Management from the Universidad San Martín de Porres in Lima.

In addition to these studies, Salinas Rivas has a diploma in Health Economics from the Universidad del Pacifico and in Strategic Marketing from the Universidad Ricardo Palma.

Last October, Salinas Rivas confirmed that he will present his pre-candidacy for the presidency in the internal elections of the Partido Aprista Peruano. He said that he accepted the proposal at the request of a sector of young Apra militants, with whom he met at the party headquarters in Miraflores.

He is the son of Abel Salinas Izaguirre, engineer, APRA leader and former minister of the first government of Alan Garcia in the eighties.

In his work as a doctor specializing in pediatrics, Salinas Rivas worked at the Maria Auxiliadora Hospital for 20 years, where he founded the facility’s Pediatric Intensive Care Service.

Salinas has been a coordinating secretary of the National Health Council and an advisor to the Ministerial Office of Health. He has also been assistant superintendent of the National Health Insurance Superintendence. He has also been the conductor of the RPP News program “Health in RPP” and “Good for Home”.

José Arista (Minister of Economy and Finance)

José Arista Arbildo was sworn in as head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). Arista will replace María Antonieta Alva, who was in charge of the MEF since October 2019 until the day the vacancy against Martín Vizcarra was approved.

The economy portfolio is one of the most important, since there are still a series of challenges to be met in a little more than half a year, in addition to the proposals of the Congress, such as the withdrawal of pensions from AFP and ONP.

This is not the first time that Arista will assume a ministry, since in 2018 he was Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation during the mandate of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, forming part of the so-called “Cabinet of Reconciliation”.

Between 2006 and 2010, during the second government of Alan García Pérez, he was the Vice Minister of Finance of the MEF. Previously, in 1990, he held the position of National Director of Public Budget of the MEF.

In June 2018, he was one of the candidates selected to be the head of the MEF after the departure of David Tuesta.

The new minister studied Economics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), where he obtained his bachelor’s degree. He also holds a master’s degree from the University of California (UCLA).

In 1992 he supported the creation of SUNAT and in 1997 he was in charge of developing the Tax Administration Service (SAT).

Among the positions he has previously held are director of the Banco de la Nación del Perú, alternate governor of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and director of the Andean Development Corporation (CAF).

The economist ran for the regional presidency of Amazonas in 2010 with the Regional Alliance Together for Amazonas party. He won the elections and served in office from 2011 to 2014.

In 2018 the weekly Hildebrandt en Sus Trece reported that Arista had 11 investigations. The information sheet of the Public Ministry indicated that, on that date, it had 11 investigations for crimes of collusion with fraud against the State, embezzlement, coercion, among others.

The former Minister of Agriculture has a preliminary investigation in the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the alleged commission of the crime of active generic bribery, an accusation related to the alleged purchase of votes to avoid the vacancy of former President Kuczynski.

As recalled, Arista had been alluded to in the so-called ‘Kenjivideos’ by former Congressman Bienvenido Ramirez.

According to the newspaper Ahora de Amazonas, while Arista was the regional president, he had a series of allegations of corruption and was even asked to be recalled.

According to the website La Primera, after his administration “the attorney general’s office discovered that there was bad management in various works, with overvaluation when public money was used”.

The official is accused of the crime against the public administration- aggravated collusion in detriment of the State-Regional Government of Amazonas, for embezzlement of about S/5 million.

When he started his term as head of Minagri, in January 2018, a potato farmers’ strike was reported due to the fall in the price of the tuber and overproduction. Arista agreed with the farmers that the State would take care of the purchase of the potato surplus for S/1 per kilo, a solution that was quite criticized.

As indicated, a maximum of 7,000 kg of potatoes were to be bought for approximately S/50 million. After the incident, about 6,645 producers sent their complaints because they indicated that what was promised by the then Minister of Agriculture was not being fulfilled.

Gastón Rodríguez (Minister of the Interior)

Gastón Rodríguez was part of the ministerial cabinet of Vicente Zeballos as Minister of the Interior (April to July 2020).

He also has more than 33 years as an officer of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), where he served as director of the National Directorate of Order and Security.

In 2017, he was director of the Special Operations Directorate of the PNP and, later, head of the Lima Police Region.

During his career, he worked in the Territorial Police Directorate of Cusco, in the Division of Emergency Units of the Police of Arequipa, as well as in the Welfare Directorate of the PNP, and in the Security Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior, among other agencies.

Gastón Rodríguez has a Master’s degree in Police Administration and Science from the Escuela Superior de la Policía (Esupol), and a Master’s degree in Public Management, with a mention in Development and National Defense – CAEN.

His police instruction includes training in counter-terrorism, intelligence, air accident prevention, aircraft search and rescue, operational tactics, and emergency operations, among others.

Delia Muñoz (Minister of Justice and Human Rights)

Delia Muñoz is a lawyer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, with more than 30 years of experience and a Master’s degree in International Economic Law.

During Alan García’s second administration, she was a State defender as a specialized supranational public prosecutor. She was also Peru’s legal attaché to the OAS in Washington D.C.

In addition, she was part of the Advisory Committee of the Labor and Social Security Commission of the Congress of the Republic, as well as head of the cabinet of advisors and first technical secretary of the National Labor Council during the democratic transition government.

Delia Muñoz is listed as an associate on the website of the law firm Amprimo, Flury, Barboza & Rodriguez, which includes a profile of the expropriator.

Muñoz has also been head of the advisory cabinet of the Ombudsman’s Office, being responsible for the coordination of the various areas of research of that institution.

Fernando D’Alessio (Minister of Education)

Fernando D’Alessio was Minister of Health (September 2017 to January 2018), during the administration of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

After the political crisis unleashed by the request for a presidential vacancy, he resigned and was replaced by Abel Salinas, who today returned to the Ministry of Health.

The new Minister of Education has a Bachelor’s degree in Maritime Sciences from the Naval School of Peru, and a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

In the Peruvian Navy, Fernando D’Alessio was Director of the Tactical Simulation Center, Director of the Naval War College and Director of the Naval School. In the same way he was General Director of Material and General Commander of Naval Operations.

Fernando D’Alessio has also been a visiting professor at the University of Miami in Florida, the Escuela de Alta Dirección y Administración in Barcelona and the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid.

In addition, he was a professor of engineering at the Escuela Naval del Perú, the Escuela de Marina Mercante and the Universidad del Callao and other private centers and universities.

D’Alessio was severely criticized during the administration of Centrum Católica, when he was its director. He was denounced by some former teachers who claim that they are being charged an “academic debt”. The denunciations reached the University Assembly of the Catholic University and the case was investigated by the University Defense Office, after which he was removed from the directorship in June 2017.

However, in an interview with RPP Noticias, he said that his separation was due to “a change of leadership”. In addition, he said he did not know the university defender at the time, Wilfredo Ardito, who collected the teachers’ complaints against D’Alessio.

Fernando Hurtado Pascual (Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation)

Fernando Hurtado Pascual had previously worked at Minagri as an advisor to the senior management during 2014.

Hurtado is an agricultural engineer who studied at the National Agrarian University La Molina and has a master’s degree from the Massachusetts University of Technology.

He has taught at the National Agrarian University and even served as Dean of Faculty.

Since 1990 he has been a consultant in Alternative Development for Drug Control in the Andean Region for international organizations such as UNTACD, AID and UNOPS.

The new minister has also been general manager of the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (DEVIDA).

Alfonso Miranda (Minister of Production)

Until now, Miranda was the president of the Fishing and Aquaculture Committee of the National Society of Industries (SNI), a position he was assigned to in June of this year.

Now he will have to work on the economic reactivation, together with the Ministries of Economy and Labor.

The new minister studied Business Administration at the University of Lima.

Between 2004 and 2009, he was the Deputy Minister of Fisheries at Produce under the governments of Alejandro Toledo and Alan Garcia.

He later served as President of the Committee for the Sustainable Management of Squid in the South Pacific (CALAMASUR), the Peruvian Tuna Chamber, and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

Mara Seminario (Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism)

Seminario will replace Rocio Barrios in the work of reactivating tourism in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seminario, originally from Piura, has been related to Mincetur before. Between 2010 and 2011 she was the Vice Minister of Tourism in Alan Garcia’s second administration.

In addition, during 2006-2010 she was Director of Tourism Promotion of the Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Export and Tourism (PROMPERU).

Since 2013 she has been the general manager of the Romero Foundation, part of the Romero Group.

Seminario graduated in Business Administration from the University of Piura, where she also teaches. According to her Linkedin, she is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Communication and Political Marketing.

Carlos Herrera Descalzi (Minister of Energy and Mines)

Herrera Descalzi who studied Mechanics and Electricity at the National University of Engineering (UNI), was Minister of Energy and Mines (Minem) on two previous occasions: between 2000 and 2001 during the government of Valentin Paniagua and in 2011, when Ollanta Humala was president.

Until now, the new minister has served as national dean of the Peruvian College of Engineers (CIP).

Previously, he was also dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of UNI.

In addition to his studies as an electrical mechanic, he has a master’s degree from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany.

The new head of Minem will have to evaluate the mining issues that were left pending in the previous management.

Augusto Valqui (Minister of Transport and Communications)

Valqui was head of the MTC during the first government of Alan García in 1990.

However, according to texts published in a blog, the economist was not on good terms with the former president and even described him as a ‘political criminal’.

Valqui graduated from the Federico Villareal University with a degree in Economics and Finance.

According to hisLinkedin, he was president of the board of Convisa, as well as a shareholder and director in several unspecified companies.

One of his main challenges will be to boost public investment with an emphasis on the regions to sustain economic recovery.

Hilda Sandoval Cornejo (Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation)

Accountant Hilda Sandoval Cornejo was the Vice Minister of MVCS during the Ollanta Humala government and is the new head of that ministry replacing Carlos Lozada Contreras.

An accountant by profession, Hilda Sandoval Cornejo has a master’s degree in Strategic Business Administration and more than 30 years of experience in the field related to the ministry she heads, as well as in economics and finance.

From October 2012 to July 2014, she was appointed as Vice Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation during the government of Ollanta Humala.

This year, from May to now, Sandoval Cornejo was the General Manager of the Oficina de Normalización Previsional (ONP). In the mentioned institution, she also held the positions of chief advisor and president of the Gender Equality Group.

Previously, she served as general manager of the Banco de Materiales (Banmat) and also held the position of executive director of the Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento de la Actividad Empresarial del Estado (Fonafe) in the governments of Alejandro Toledo and Alan García.

It was precisely because of this last position that Sandoval Cornejo was involved in investigations by the Congressional Oversight Committee, in 2008 and 2012, for alleged functional negligence in the supervision of Banmat.

Patricia Teullet (Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations)

Teullet, an economist from the University of the Pacific, who in May 1996 was designated as the Vice Minister of Social Development of the Ministry of the Presidency by former President Alberto Fujimori, a position she held until November of that year.

Teullet studied at Colegio Villa María and, after studying economy and obtaining her professional degree, she followed a master’s degree in Administration at Universidad La Salle in Mexico.

Later, she also specialized in Foreign Trade Policy at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Thus, in 1981 she joined the Corporación Financiera de Desarrollo (COFIDE), working as a specialist in the area of international finance, a position he held until 1984. Three years later, she was also an advisor to the Presidency of COFIDE and, in 1999, was appointed General Manager of the Foreign Trade Corporation (COMEX).

Teullet also formed part of the government of former President Alejandro Toledo, when she was appointed in August 2001 as Vice Minister of Economy, a position she held under the management of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). A year later she resigned and returned to the Foreign Trade Society.

Lizzet Rojas Sánchez (Minister of the Environment)

Rojas Sánchez studied law at the Universidad San Martín de Porres, specializing, according to her own Linkedin profile, in the civil, commercial and environmental fields.

In addition, she worked as deputy director of the National Superintendence of Labor Inspection (SUNAFIL), from January 2014 to August 2017. Later, from July 2018 until now, she was the managing director of the EIRL Corporate Law Firm.

María del Carmen de Reparaz (Minister of Culture)

Maria del Carmen De Reparaz Zamora, a graduate in Tourism and Hospitality with a degree in History, today assumed the position of Minister of Culture.

De Reparaz is the daughter of the famous Portuguese geographer and photographer Gonzalo de Reparaz, who arrived in Peru in the mid-20th century. In addition to her studies in tourism, De Reparaz has a master’s degree in cultural management and tourism.

She worked at PROMPERÚ for more than 10 years, where she was the Director of Tourism Promotion. In addition, she was appointed in 2014 as Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism.

De Reparaz also served on the advisory board of the Pedro de Osma Museum in Barranco and was a member of the advisory board of the Peruvian chapter of the NGO Ayuda en Acción.

Federico Tong Hurtado (Minister of Development and Social Inclusion)

Tong has a degree in psychology from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and a master’s degree in global business administration from the Centrum Graduate Business School of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

In addition, he has an MBA from Tulane University in New Orleans in the United States.

He has held various management positions, including executive director of the Fund for Social Development Cooperation (Foncodes) of the Midis.