Peru's far-left president to replace prime minister in cabinet shakeup

Peru’s left-wing President Pedro Castillo said on Monday that he plans on replacing Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez and shuffling the rest of his center-left cabinet – the third change within his administration in just six months since taking office.

Vasquez took to Twitter on Monday to state she had resigned "due to the impossibility of reaching consensus to benefit the country."

Castillo, a member of the Marxist Perú Libre party, must now seek the confirmation of his new cabinet from the opposition-led Congress.

But pundits remain uncertain what Castillo’s new cabinet may look like – or which signals he might send to already weary markets regarding his next economic pick, Reuters reported. 

When he presented a far-left cabinet to the nation in July, Peru’s currency hit record lows amid investor concerns.

By October, however, the former schoolteacher had nominated former congressional president Velasquez – a moderate – to join his ranks along with Finance Minister Pedro Francke, calming market concerns and bringing economic stability to the copper-rich country.

With Vasquez, Castillo survived an impeachment attempt launched by the opposition-controlled legislature.

In her resignation letter, Vasquez referenced several crises, including "regretfully, potential acts of corruption or irregularities committed by officials at the highest level of this administration."

Over the weekend, Interior Minister Avelino Guillen, who is in charge of the police, also submitted his resignation over disagreements with Castillo.

Guillen had wanted to replace high-level police officials involved in corruption allegations, but told local media that he had not been supported by Castillo in his decisions.

It is still unclear if Pedro Francke will remain on Castillo’s cabinet.